These days, in Paris, the "packaging" operation of the Arc de Triomphe is taking place. It mixes art and engineering on a massive scale, fulfilling the dream that the famous couple of artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude harbored from 1961 and that they unfortunately won't be able to witness.
The Napoleonic Arc is going to be wrapped by 95 technicians on ropes with 25,000sqm of silver-blue recyclable polypropylene fabric and 3,000m of red cables, also recyclable. Christo described the Arc project in 2018, wrapped as so "It will be like a living object that will animate in the wind and reflect the light. The folds will move, the surface of the monument will become sensual".
After last year's postponement due to the pandemic, L'Arc de Triomphe empaquete (Projet pour Paris, Place de l'Etoile-Charles de Gaulle) will finally see the light on September 18th until October 3rd. It's hard to imagine something more moving than this to commemorate the great couple of visionaries.