Forty-one years after Christo and Jeanne-Claude's The Pont Neuf Wrapped, artist JR has covered the famous bridge over the Seine in Paris with an inflatable mountain. Over three weeks in June, visitors will be able to traverse the bridge inside La Caverne du Pont Neuf.
“My vision for this project is rooted in both the past and present of this iconic bridge. I once was also very inspired by the artistic vision of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and I share their idea that the mission of art is to make the public think—or rethink about the familiar. The debate that a project in a public space can provoke is of equal value to its artistic realization. Art is a transformation and a way of renewing the way we look at the world around us. Through the dream of La Caverne du Pont Neuf, this is what I hope to make possible in Paris.” — JR
In addition to being temporary installations on the same famous Parisian bridge, the parallels between JR's creation and Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artwork from 1985 are multiple. Firstly, like every artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, not just The Pont Neuf Wrapped, JR's La Caverne du Pont Neuf is financed privately, including via the sale of artworks. Although their media differ, the preparatory sketch by Christo envisioning the wrapping of the Pont Neuf (above) is echoed by the ones JR made (below)—sketches that would no doubt be coveted by art collectors.
Secondly, just as Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artworks in the public realm had to navigate the political realm, JR and his team had to work with the Parisian government to gain the proper approvals and permits for the project. The photos below capture the artists presenting their proposals to their respective mayors: Jacques Chirac in the mid-1980s and Anne Hidalgo today.
Thirdly, Chrsto and Jeanne-Claude often used buildings and pieces of infrastructure as canvases for their artworks, making the large-scale works of construction akin to architecture. It is no different with La Caverne du Pont Neuf. The engineering, construction, and assembly of the inflatable structure and interior tunnel have been carried out by Air Toiles Concept. The company that specializes in inflatable structures was also responsible for printing the fabric that covers the bridge and the cave structure, and for the installation's overall safety systems.
Lastly, the temporary, spectacular, and public nature of these installations 41 years apart weds Christo and Jeanne-Claude's The Pont Neuf Wrapped and JR's La Caverne du Pont Neuf. An estimated 6 million people visited Christo's L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped over 16 days in 2021, one year after the artist's death (Jeanne-Claude died in 2009). JR's artwork is already drawing people to the Seine ahead of its opening on June 6, after which it will be open 24 hours a day for three weeks—drawings hundres of thousands if not millions of visitors.
