Work Of Artist Christo, Late Wife Available On HBO

November 26, 2009 6:01 a.m. EST

New York City (CNS) - The memory of one-half of one of the most innovative and unusual artist duos of all time will live on through HBO.

The premium cable network is scheduled to re-air "The Gates," a detailing of the most recent work by married environmental artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. In honor of Jeanne-Claude's November 18 death from a brain aneurysm at the age of 74, HBO will give an encore presentation of the documentary, which originally aired in February 2008.

The documentary chronicles the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude in their 2005 creation of the artwork "The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979-2005." Initially proposing the idea 30 years ago, the duo was given the go-ahead in 2005 by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to create a public piece of art within Central Park. "The Gates" consisted of the construction of 7,503 saffron-colored gates and panels of nylon fabric running throughout the park. Financing for the project came from the artists themselves, who sold many of their old artworks to come up with the $21 million necessary. Like most of the pair's work, the 23 miles worth of gates were impermanent, staying on Central Park paths from February 12 to February 27, 2005.

"The Gates" is the latest in a long line of projects by the pair, who came to fame by wrapping various monuments and pieces of nature in cloth, plastic and other materials. Among their other famous projects were "The Umbrellas" and "Wrapped Snoopy House," the latter of which Cristo made in honor of his inclusion in a 1978 "Peanuts" comic strip by cartoonist Charles Schulz.

"The Gates" will air on HBO on December 9 at 10:15 a.m. ET/PT. The documentary also will be available on HBO On Demand from December 21 to January 18.