Over the River or Should a River Run Under It?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 12:00AM 
The artist Christo has submitted plans for a complex art installation over the Arkansas River in South Central Colorado. Since the plan was formulated, Christo's wife Jeanne-Claude has passed away but Christo intends to still complete the project. For those of you not familiar with the couple they are famous for their dramatic art installations, their most recent work being The Gates Project in New York City's Central Park.
The Over the River installation is equally daunting, the description from the artist's website.
Over The River is a two-week temporary work of art to be created by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists will suspend horizontally a total of 5.9 miles of silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River along a 40-mile stretch of the river between Salida and Cañon City in south-central Colorado.
Despite a lengthy list of suppoters, the worldwide attention that Christo's work brings to a region and the associated tourist traffic, there are some in the area that do not want to see Christo's project come to fruition.
R.O.A.R., which stands for Rags Over the Arkansas River, is a group whose principle mission is to formally oppose the Over the River project. R.O.A.R. claims the area does not have the infrastructure to handle the expected influx of traffic and that the project will damage the environment despite the artists's claim the project will leave no lasting harm.
This is not the first time the artists have set up shop in Colorado, Christo and Jeanne-Claude did an installation in Rifle 30 years ago called The Valley Curtain. That project also initially met resistance from the local community but according to the artists it ended up being a positive for everyone involved.
christo, over the river in Art
Reader Comments (14)
stay the fuck off the rivers Christo - go make something urban more artistic - mother nature doesn't need your help
I've been a fan of Christo since his "Running Fence" way back when, I once attended a lecture he did around that time. But I've got to admit this one sounds a bit too intrusive, putting a "lid" on a river for almost 6 miles can't be good.
WRONG!
Amen to MattSteelhead's comment! What a giant waste of time and resources. Who's footing the bill for all of the Environmental Impact Assessments and Reports? Christo should take his fabric and cover a bunch of abandoned warehouses, not a river.
Not on my river!
Looks like I'll have to start carrying a pair of snips with me.
I'm sure the 16' no hackle schmucks will positively love it, however....
Yeah, cover one of the most productive stretches of the Ark ! If he wants to do it, DO IT IN PEUBLO! The Ark below the res is freaking ugly anyway, may as well cover it up :)
WOnder what 2 weeks of darkness over 40 MILES of fertile trout infested water will do to the ecosystem, and all the associated building traffic.
Christo - fuck off and find a real job
This is just WRONG! Some artsy fartsy fuck wants to potentially destroy an ecosystem. Come round these parts you may get shot.
They didn't mention that the people of New York hated is art in their park. Nine out of ten thought is looked like crap and those that did like it were believed to be homless and used it for covers at night when they slept on park benchs. What LSD survivor that this was a good idea.
They didn't mention that the people of New York hated his art in their park. Nine out of ten thought is looked like crap and those that did like it were believed to be homeless and used it for covers at night when they slept on park benchs. What LSD survivor thought that this was a good idea.
Didn't someone get killed when one of those gates fell over?
Wonder how flammable it is
Absolutely fantastic! And it works, just look how provoked you guys are. Genius.
That's not art it's vandalism
Some of us here in Colo wonder if it would increase the BWO hatches...but on the whole we are trying to figure out how to make napalm.