Improving on Nature

Artist Christo’s Plan to Shroud River Hangs Like a Cloud Over Communities

By Ken Wright, 3-17-06

It’ll be a massive work of art: a rippling roof of fabric covering the Arkansas River Gorge east of Salida, Colo., for more than six and a half miles. Tentatively scheduled for two weeks during the summer of 2009, the “Over the River” project would be comprised of nearly a thousand nylon panels hanging between 10 and 24 feet over the river, anchored by cables to 2,400 cement blocks placed along the banks. The panels would let light and water through, and move in the wind.

Conceived by artist team Christo and Jeanne-Claude (married, but no last name for either, but, oddly, both born on June 13, 1935), “Over the River” has been in the works for nearly 15 years. It’s only the latest – and, rumors say, perhaps the last – of many such grand creations by the pair.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude first collaborated on their large-scale art endeavors in 1961, on two projects, titled “Stacked Oil Barrels” and “Dockside Packages at Cologne Harbor.” In 1972, the team came to Colorado to erect “Valley Curtain,” near Rifle. The project was shredded by 60-mile-an-hour winds in a little more than a day. Most recently, they created a 16-day exhibit in New York City’s Central Park that featured more than 20 miles of nylon-paneled walkways. Millions visited the display.

And that’s what has many residents along the Arkansas River concerned.

In the summer, this section of the Arkansas River is hugely popular for commercial rafting. Along the rim of the river gorge also runs the scenic U.S. 50, which is a popular auto-tour route – as well as the main thoroughfare for residents. This, of course, makes the site perfect for the artists, who want the public to be able to enjoy their work from both above, along the road, and below, on the river. For the people who live in the little towns along the river, though, the project threatens to choke the area.

During the project’s public comment period for a BLM environmental assessment, between early December to early February the agency received some 1,100 letters and emails. Meetings held for the EA process drew up to 300 people in communities up and down the Arkansas River and U.S. 50, from Canon City to Cotapaxi. Also, about 700 residents from the most-affected towns have also organized into a group called “Rags Over the Arkansas River.”

Comments to the BLM targeted congestion, distraction of drivers on the highway, delayed response of emergency services, and the impact on bighorn sheep and birds that utilize the river – and the projected quarter-million spectators who will encounter the many rattlesnakes the inhabit the canyon rim in the summer. As an example of the dangers, on Feb. 15 a truck crashed on the stretch of U.S. 50 alongside the Christo site and spilled uranium ore across the highway.

Arguments in favor of the project cite the clean track record of the artists on their other big artworks around the world, and notes that the project could create up to 700 temporary jobs while bringing more visitors to both the towns and the rafting industry.

According to a BLM official, the comments run about 60 percent against the project. The EA will be released in the fall, later than the originally planned June release because of the number of comments. Adding to the uncertainty of the entire affair, the EA can be appealed after its release. Meanwhile, the Colorado Department of Transportation has asked that a traffic plan be drawn from a analysis performed by a consulting firm hired by the artists, and the BLM has asked for a detailed building schedule.

Meanwhile, the debate goes on. The Denver Post’s “Rocky Mountain Ranger” column offered a sarcastic jab at the whole idea. Author Susan Tweit, a resident of nearby Salida, also weighed in on the issue in High Country News’s “Writers on the Range” syndicated column recently, arguing that regardless of what happens, the project has already been a success. “Whether the project makes it through the permit process, it has already succeeded in engaging communities up and down the canyon,” she wrote, “spurring us to talk about what we cherish. That, to my mind, is the whole point of art: It forces us to pay attention; it transforms our view of the everyday world.”

Closer to home, Colorado Central Magazine, a monthly publication covering south central Coloraodo’s Arkansas River and San Luis valleys, made the “Over the River” debate its cover story for the most recent issue, titled “Christozilla: Raging through the Canyon.” In Martha Quillen’s editorial, she observes that “problems result when one man’s dream is another man’s nightmare.” She also notes, though, that “the irony is this time around it’s the art lovers who are talking about serving our economic interests and seizing the important opportunity.”

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