Artist references:

• Jonathan Bielaski
• Anthony Kurtz

When i started thinking about my den project and how i am going to recreate my structures within an outside environment i also wanted to take inspiration not just from my old archive photographs but artists which explore the concept of adding to the environment. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are not artists which build dens like the ones i am intending to make but i thought it would be really interesting to explore their work as they add material to the environment. I want to consider how they photograph these structures that they create and how the concept behind their work isn’t just all about the final photographs but also the whole process of creating the projects. Their pieces are about the act of making the structures and the structures then being present to be seen by people and interacted with. All of the locations they build in are public places and the structures are made to be among people. This is exactly the same as my dens which are created to be interacted with and played in by children. I really really love all of their pieces of work, the photographs are incredibly captivating and i can imagine the pieces are even more magnificent to see in reality and all their scale. All the pieces come from the minds of both the artists in collaboration and they have created around 20 projects. Interestingly they have ideas for many more but the structures take a lot of time to plan and then it is very difficult to get permission to be allowed to created them. Many of their projects have been re-jected as they couldn’t get permission to create them.  The Wrapped Trees project took 32 years (1966-98), to get permission and then plan to have it created while The Gates project also took 26 years, (1971-2005).

The Wrapped Trees

This project is my favourite of theirs as the photographs are seriously enchanting and as i love light i love the way it effects the structures. In 1998 Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped 178 trees with 592,015 square feet of woven polyester fabric and 14.3 miles  of rope. The trees were situated in Fondation Beyeler and Berower Park in Switzerland, a key part of the project being that people could walk along the line of trees and the structures could be seen. Each tree was individually designed to have their own pattern and eight teams of 33 individuals put together the designs. The wrapping was removed on December 14, 1998 and the materials were recycled.

I think this project is very significant to consider in the creation of my dens as i am going to have to explore material in trees to create some of my structures. I think by chance i have chosen the perfect time of year to create this project as in spring the environment is just starting to regrow but is not overgrown where it would be difficult to create structures. Christo thought carefully about this within his wrapped tree project, creating it in autumn when the branches would be leafless and therefore the material would cover a more minimal structure allowing more light to shine through the structures. He also very carefully chose to use a very transparent material when exposed to light so as to create an elegiac quality to the work. The transparent material allows for the structures, even not in bright sunlight to be transparent enough to see the skeleton of the branches underneath. This whole project to me is very reminiscent of the trees becoming like bodies, the branches the skeleton and the material becoming skin covering them. By using material as the covering for the trees it is also able to move in the wind which i can imagine gives the impression that the trees are breathing and pulsating. I would really love to be able to create this impression of movement within some of my own dens, to have flowing material which suggest a life to the structure despite the absence of people. I also really want to explore the use of semi-transparent material and light. I will have to create one of my dens on a really bright, sunny day so that i can explore taking photographs with the light shining through the material.

I also within his project really like the sketches he made before he created the den of how he wanted the project to come together. Alongside the photographs they create a very powerful visual image that every element was planned out and the impression Christo wanted to give with his trees was calculated. All of the photographs available of this particular project are when the sun is shinning through the branches which leads me to believe that it is probably best to photograph the material in sunlight for my project too.  I also quite like how the photographs are taken from a distance away which creates a perspective with the images of the scale. This is something i also need to consider with my project.

The Umbrellas 

As i am considering making a structure out of umbrellas, this is another one of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s projects which is perfect to consider in relation to how I’m going to create my own. This project was on an absolutely massive scale, linking both Ibaraki, Japan and California, America together. One artist was present at each site on October 9, 1991 when the 3,100 umbrellas began to open.  Both projects were created in similar valleys in opposite places and the project was all about celebrating the similarities and differences between the two places coming together. All the umbrellas were made in California before half being shipped to Japan. The umbrellas were colour co-ordinated, Blue for Japan, symbolizing how the land is enriched by water to grow the rice and yellow for the uncultivated grazing land of California. The umbrellas were available to interact with for 18 days, their removal beginning on October 27th 1991.

I think this project is important for me to consider in relation to how colour works within the environment. When i initially thought about building my dens i wanted to use bright vibrant colours so that they stand out against the landscape. Seeing how effective this in within this project has convinced me further that this is a good idea so that my photographs are as effective as possible. The two photographs above have also inspired me for how I’m going to take the photographs as one of them is taken from slightly below so u can see inside the umbrellas and one is taken looking down on top of the umbrellas. After seeing how effective these two different designs are i am going to experiment a lot more with different angles when photographing my umbrella den to see the different perspectives i can create.

The Gates

As with the other two projects these structures were also made on a massive scale with  7,503 fabric panels being put up within Central Park in 2005. The size and scale of each panel depended on the different width of the paths around the park as each panel was made to frame the walk from beginning to end perfectly. The pieces of material are free hanging from the structure to create almost like an archway as you walk along the path. The material in every panel was a bright Saffon colour and 60 miles of the material was needed to create the whole design. 600 workers were required to install the Gates. The Gate structures were created to reflect the rectangular structures of the city blocks surrounding the park and making up New York. From these high up tower blocks surrounding Central park The Gates looked like a golden river.

I think this project is really significant to consider in relation to my project because of how the material moves in the wind and this flowing quality gives a completely different presence to the structures in the photographs. The golden material which stands out vividly within the environment has different tones depending on the light shinning through it and the shape the wind has made it into. I feel like this quality gives the structures more of a presence within the photographs and is something i would like to achieve in my structures. Weird as it sounds i feel like the movement of the structures like the Wrapped Trees project is suggestive of breathing and life and therefore gives the structures a personality. I want to make each structure differently so that they do have this element of individuality and i want each to have a character to them; i feel like movement would be very helpful in conveying this. 

So after considering these projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude there are elements of their work which i am going to strive to convey within my own. Firstly i think light is very significant in photographing the structures. The light shinning through the material creates different tones of colour which overall adds more character to each structure. Light can also allow the bare bones of the structure to be seen underneath the structure which creates very beautiful photographs. Colour is also essential; using bright and vividly coloured materials stand out a lot more against the natural environment. The colours used can also be symbolic such as with the Umbrellas project which is something i may consider with some of my structures. I was also planning to take photographs of my structures from different angles but seeing these photographs has informed me of a variety of other angles i can consider. Lastly movement of the material seems to be very important in conveying a life to the structure and a personality which is something i really want my photographs to achieve. I really love Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work and the scale it is created is incredible. 

After looking back at the archival photographs of my childhood dens i also wanted to look for inspiration for my new dens through other dens made by other people. It was actually quite difficult to find photographs because i think the creation of dens are normally very much in the moment and you get so wrapped up within the game that you forget to ever take a photograph. I found this with my own archival photographs that the best dens which i can actually remember making still all this time later are not photographed. This is simply because they were very much for the moment. I remember that i have heard someone that when asked what the best memory of a persons childhood was that featured no adult interference the most common answer is den building. Within my project i am only really considering den building outside in different environments but dens could be structures built at home or built literally anywhere. I’ve created a small mood board above just to consider some of the common features of dens. 

All of the dens i have seen have a roof. The whole point to them seems to be to create a space which is separated from the environment around them by a wall of material. I think a massive part to it is to create something, a space which is exclusively yours and for those others that you let inside. Another key feature seems to be the adding of blankets and pillows into the den so that it is comfy and cosy. This seems to have a lot to do with feeling safe and creating an environment in which the individuals feel protected. Most of the dens above are pretty much free standing which is why they all seem to have this tipi or tent shape to them. I’m planning on using the environment a little bit more within my structures so to have the blankets hanging off the trees and other elements of the environment incorporated into my structure. Colour also seems to be a big part of the dens, though this probably isn’t particularly planned but it is something i want to incorporate into my dens.