Christo

      Christo, who is widely known for his large-scale outdoor installations that require mass amounts of resources, has proposed his most ambitious, and likely his most controversial, piece to date.  The project is a mastaba that is made up of 410,000 oil drums and will cost 340 million dollars.  The end product would be the most expensive sculpture ever made.  What is interesting is his choice to do this work in Abu Dhabi.  The UAE is a wealthy oil nation with most of its population consisting of  not-so-wealthy and overworked citizens.  I am not here to comment on foreign policy or advocate for the rights of foreign workers, but it does seem bizarre in a "ends don't justify the means" kind of way.   I am interested though in what others think about this project.  Is there a time and place for art?  Is there a responsibility that artists must assume?