Christo's The Floating Piers: An Experiential Land Art Masterpiece

In a conversation published on Artribune, critics Massimo Mattioli and Daniele Capra reflect on Christo's The Floating Piers, installed at Lake Iseo in June 2016. Mattioli argues that the work was completed only when the first visitor stepped onto it, emphasizing its experiential nature. Capra agrees, noting that the land art and public art intervention finds its meaning solely in the act of walking, comparing it to walking on water—a category of the impossible and the miraculous. Both critics dismiss critiques from those who did not experience the work firsthand. Mattioli describes his preview on June 16, two days before the public opening, and contends that the work's power lies in the multitude, comparing the collective reaction to Olafur Eliasson's The Weather Project at Tate Modern in 2003. Capra defends the work's event status, noting that Christo's limited duration imposes an agenda on visitors. Mattioli criticizes Italian self-destructive criticism, citing the Codacons association's complaints about public costs, while noting that the project attracted over 1 million visitors in 16 days and generated an estimated 100 million euros in economic benefits. The critics also discuss the bureaucratic hurdles faced by public art projects in Italy, comparing Christo's experience to William Kentridge's in Rome. Capra contrasts Italian public art traditions with Anglo-Saxon public art, which is community-based, and references Pietro Gaglianò's essay L'ossessione del visibile.