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Industry Talk

Gleistein holds the show together

Paris spectacle relies on 3,000 metres of fire-retardant, bright red rope.

1st September 2021

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Paris

Industrial

The mammoth art project, L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, by Christo and Jeanne Claude – is now finally close to realisation in Paris and will be unveiled for viewing on September 18th.

Originally conceived by Christo 60 years ago, the project is relying on the coordinated efforts of a large team of experts to ensure perfection, right down to the smallest fold.

Gleistein, based in Bremen, Germany, has been responsible for the development and manufacture of the ropes being used to affix 25,000 square metres of blue fabric to the Arc de Triomphe.

All of the ropes were fully tested to comply with specifications, their lengths meticulously determined, elongation characteristics adjusted and colours coordinated during extensive preliminary work and careful calculation.

In total, Gleistein has supplied approximately 3,000 metres of fire-retardant, bright red rope with corresponding coloured fittings for the project that can be admired in Paris from September 18th to October 3rd 2021.

All of the ropes were fully tested to comply with specifications

With their striking, unforgettable temporary installations, Christo and Jeanne-Claude carved out a unique niche in the international art scene and Gleistein ropes often played a major role in their creations, including Berlin’s Wrapped Reichstag, which in 1995 became a celebrated symbol of the recent German reunification, and Big Air Package at the Oberhausen Gasometer in Germany in 2013.

Neither Christo or Jeanne-Claude have lived to see L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped accomplished, but Christo expressed his wish that the project would be realised even after his death.

“I had the pleasure of meeting Christo in Bremen in 1995 when he visited us on the occasion of the Wrapped Reichstag,” said Klaus Walther, Gleistein managing director. “He was an impressive man with very clear ideas and I was thrilled when we were contacted again to be a part of this latest project,.”

Gleistein has been manufacturing ropes since 1824 and has two of the most modern rope manufacturing facilities in the world in Bremen and Trencin, Slovakia.

 www.gleistein.com

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