While the Arc de Triomphe is currently the subject of a tribute packaging to Cristo’s work, Snapchat delivers an augmented reality experience to visualize the monument from a distance.
The famous 50 m building which sits at the top of the avenue des Champs-Elysées, will be completely transformed into a gigantic “gift package”, with giant canvases covering 25,000 m2 held by 3,000 m of red rope. An event visible from September 18 to October 3 in Paris. But for those who will not be able to get there, Snapchat is associated with the artistic event for the start of the school year.
The monumental work is to be admired thanks to the application. Just open Snapchat and the Snap camera (used to add filters, etc.) and scan the Snapcode below. Users can find the dedicated Lens in the Lens Explorer section of the app by typing Christo, Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped or Sotheby’s.
It is then possible to see through the screen of your smartphone the monument adorned with its special “dress” and even to travel through the 1960s to the present day, to admire the evolution of this work whose idea was germinated in 1962 in the spirit of Cristo and his wife Jeanne-Claude. The couple then showed a photo-montage giving an idea of this monumental work. Sixty years later, the dream has come true, even though Cristo died in May 2020.
A living object
This packaging “will be like a living object which will come alive in the wind and reflect the light. The folds will move, the surface of the monument will become sensual ”, explained Cristo while presenting this final project, in 2018.
This augmented reality experience also echoes the exhibition offered by the auction house Sotheby’s and devoted to the artist’s works. According to Snapchat, more than 200 million Snapchatters use augmented reality on its application every day.
