Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Over The River

Christo to headline Salida symposium (excerpt)

source: Copyright © 2007 The Pueblo Chieftain

By TRACY HARMON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

SALIDA - The common silvery thread that ties the waters of the Arkansas River to art, writing, fishing and rafting will be explored May 26-27 during "A River Runs Through Us," a Colorado Art Ranch Artposium.

Internationally known artists Christo and Jeanne Claude will talk about their proposed grand-scale artwork "Over the River" when they headline the event with a 7 p.m. May 26 presentation at the Salida Steam Plant Theater, Sackett and G streets.

Bulgarian-born Christo and his partner-wife Jeanne-Claude, both 71, propose to hang about seven miles of translucent fabric panels over eight segments of the Arkansas River between Canon City and Salida. The artwork, if permitted, would hang for 14 days, sometime between mid-July and mid-August in 2011 at the earliest.

The Salida Artposium will explore how rivers, the Arkansas in particular, inspire the arts, and shape the region's history, culture and environment.

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Breakout sessions will be held at Bongo Billy's Salida Cafe, 300 W. Sackett St., and will explore a rich range of river-related topics. Presentations will focus on fly-fishing, nature journal writing, poetry, river-running, landscape photography, creating art with found objects from the river and Salida’s relationship with the river.

Colorado Art Ranch, a new nonprofit residency program for artists and writers, will host the Artposium event under the direction of Grant Pound, founder and executive director.

"The idea for Colorado Art Ranch was conceived in the Wet Mountain Valley in fall 2005," Pound said. "I thought that Colorado's unique beauty would be the perfect muse for artists and writers from around the world."

The Artposium is made possible by a seed grant of $50,000 from the Jeffrey David Talley Foundation.

The Artposium event will raise money for a residency program and encourage rural economic development through the arts and heritage tourism. The residency program is slated for May 24-June 21 and will provide artists and writers with four weeks of living and studio space to work uninterrupted.

Cost to attend the May 26-27 Artposium is $249 per person or $230 per person for two or more. Registration can be completed at www.coloradoartranch.org or by calling 303-279-5198.

Opposition group plans summer of counter points

source: Copyright © 2007 Arkansas Valley Publishing

Opposition group plans summer of counter points

by Jason Starr
Mail Staff Writer

Rags Over the Arkansas River of Howard, the group opposing the Christo and Jeanne-Claude plan to suspend fabric above portions of the Arkansas River, will increase its public information campaign this summer.

Group representatives said efforts will coincide with two Salida visits the artists have planned in coming weeks.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude will speak at the Steam Plant Theater and Performing Arts Center May 26 as part of the inaugural Colorado Art Ranch Artposium and again June 21 as a fund-raiser for the Steam Plant.

Ken Tiegs, ROAR vice president, said the group will distribute literature and refer people to its web site - www.roarcolorado.org - throughout the summer, not just during the artists' local visits.

ROAR members manned a booth at the recent Cañon City Blossom Festival and plans to have a presence at Arkansas River Cleanup-Greenup this weekend.

Group members will be at FIBArk in June, the weekend before the second Christo and Jeanne-Claude visit to the Steam Plant.

"There will be opportunities for both of us to inform the public," Tiegs said. "Any time Christo and 'Over the River' put out information it may elicit a response from us."

Group board member Ellen Bauder said, "We are developing a public information campaign that will present a fuller picture of the possible impacts of this project,"

ROAR is a non-profit organization with a mission of "preserving and protecting the headwaters of the Arkansas River, Bighorn Sheep Canyon, its inhabitants and the communities that depend upon them."

The May 26 Christo and Jeanne Claude presentation will be open only to artposium participants. Cost of the two-day artposium is $249.

The event will feature several speakers and presentations "exploring the confluence of writing, art, land issues and heritage," according to its Web site - www.coloradoartranch.org.

The Christo and Jeanne Claude presentation will include discussions of the artists' past projects in addition to information about "Over the River," artposium organizer Grant Pound said.

The artists' June 21 presentation will also deal with the "Over the River proposal." Cost is $20. More information is available at the theater, 530-0933.

Tiegs said ROAR members are much more interested in reading a 2,000-page document the artists submitted last month detailing plans for "Over the River" than in attending either local presentation.

Because the document is being reviewed by the Bureau of Land Management - the main permit agency for the project - it isn't available to the public.

The BLM is in the early stages of preparing an environmental impact statement for the project.

"We've asked when we can see the report," Tiegs said. "Our understanding is it's not going to be available to the public until the fall."

Bauder said, "It will take a long time to review, so we would like as much time as possible to read it and analyze it.

"We're anxious to see details of what is proposed, exactly where it will be, what it will involve and the time line. Everything else is just talk."

The project is planned as a two-week summer display affecting as much as 45 miles of the river between Salida and Cañon City. Estimates indicate the project won't be through the permit process until summer 2011 at the earliest.

Artists unveil design of river curtain project

source: Copyright © 2007 The Pueblo Chieftain

Artists unveil design of river curtain project

By TRACY HARMON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO / CHRIS McLEAN
Christo (right) and Jeanne-Claude sit in front of a poster of a portion of their proposed new project ‘Over the River’ during a public informational meeting last year in Canon City.

CANON CITY - Christo and Jeanne-Claude have set the wheels in motion for the proposed "Over the River" grand-scale artwork by submitting a 2,000-page design proposal to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Monday.

Bulgarian-born artist Christo and his partner-wife Jeanne-Claude, both 71, propose to hang about seven miles of translucent fabric panels over eight segments of the Arkansas River between Canon City and Salida. The artwork would hang for 14 days, sometime between mid-July and mid-August in 2011 at the earliest, according to the artists’ Web site.

Fabric panels would be attached to about 1,000 anchored steel cables and will cover the water surface, but not the side slopes. The panels would hang from between 8 and 25 feet above the water.

"The design proposal was required of Christo and Jeanne-Claude last June, said Ken Smith, U.S. Bureau of Land Management spokesman. "It is about a 2,000-page document which contains information on planning and event traffic management, engineering, construction, removal and rehabilitation.

"Because of its large size and prior workload commitments, we won't be able to review it until probably this fall," Smith said.

"At that time, we will put out an Environmental Impact Statement for competitive bid so we can select a third-party contractor to conduct the environmental review. The draft Environmental Impact Statement will probably take a year, so it will be the fall of 2008 when we open up the formal public comment process and give people and opportunity to comment," Smith said.

The final Environmental Impact Statement will follow before the BLM decides whether to approve or deny the proposal. If the BLM approves the proposal, Christo and Jeanne-Claude still will need other state, federal and county permits before receiving all the green lights they need to proceed.

BLM officials hope to release Christo and Jeanne-Claude's design proposal information to the public this fall, Smith said.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude first launched their "Over the River" effort in 1992 surveying 89 possible river sites. In 1996, the Arkansas River was selected as the prime site and the artists held their initial public meetings about the proposal in Salida and Canon City in 1997.

For information about the project, log onto www.christojeanneclaude.net

Artists deliver plan

source: Copyright © 2007 Arkansas Valley Publishing

Artists deliver plan

by Jason Starr
Mail Staff Writer

Christo and Jeanne Claude plan to suspend fabric above the Arkansas River. The couple delivered a 2,000 page document last week, essential to the environmental impact statement.
Photo: Courtesy Christo and Jeanne Claude

The most detailed account to date of the Christo and Jeanne Claude plan to suspend fabric over the Arkansas River arrived last week at the Bureau of Land Management Royal Gorge Field office in Cañon City.

The 2,000-page document is an essential part of the environmental impact statement to which the bureau is committed as part of its approval process.

After reviewing the document, BLM officials plan to contract the environmental impact statement and continue with a decision about the controversial project.

Christo and Jeanne Claude have a history of out-waiting bureaucratic processes to complete large-scale public art displays that made them wealthy and famous.

Local opposition to the Over the River project is centered in the Howard area, the community that would likely be most effected by the two-week display. A group called Rags Over the Arkansas River formed to lead opposition.

Members believe the project will create major traffic congestion in the narrow canyon east of Salida and safety hazards for canyon residents.

The detailed plan received last week is another attempt by the artists to explain how they plan to stretch fabric in segments above a 40-mile section of river and how they propose to mitigate impact to canyon residents.

The document includes engineering, construction, removal, traffic and safety considerations.

Ken Smith, BLM spokesperson, said the agency isn't ready to release the document for public review.

"At some point we expect it will be available to the public, but we need to review it first," Smith said.

The BLM is working on an agreement with the artists about how the environmental impact statement will be executed. Smith said he could not determine when the statement would be complete.

"We have other things we're working on," he said. "It doesn't go to the front of our priority order. It fits in with our other priorities."

No official stance

source: Copyright © 2006 Arkansas Valley Publishing

No official stance
Chaffee County Commissioners tell Rags Over the Arkansas River they are not ready to make official stand

by Jason Starr
Mail Staff Writer

Chaffee County Commissioners reminded members of Rags Over the Arkansas River on Monday they are not ready to take an official stand for or against the Christo and Jeanne Claude "Over the River" project.

Six members of ROAR spoke against the proposed public art display in the Bighorn Sheep Canyon during Monday's work session in Salida. Commissioner Jerry Mallett and Jim Osborne said the board of commissioners could not make a decision about the project until the Bureau of Land Management releases a draft of its environmental impact statement.

Commission chairman Tim Glenn was absent from Monday's meeting.

Cathey Young, a member of ROAR, suggested commissioners publicly state opposition to the project before the impact statement is released. Ken Tiegs of ROAR pointed to a letter from county weed coordinator Larry Walker in which Walker said the project would contribute to the spread of the elongated mustard weed.

"Noxious weeds increase rapidly when soil and native vegetation is disturbed," Walker wrote.

Commissioners said they are aware of Walker's concerns and the concerns of ROAR members. They assured opposers that safety of residents of Chaffee County and that of residents of the canyon, which is mostly in Fremont County, would be their primary concern.

Tiegs attended a commissioners meeting last month describing ROAR's opposition.

BLM expects an appeal on Over the River decision [excerpt]

source: Copyright © 2006 Arkansas Valley Publishing

BLM expects an appeal on Over the River decision

by Jason Starr
Mail Staff Writer

Whichever way the Bureau of Land Management rules on the Over the River project, the issue will likely end up in appeals court, BLM Field Manager Roy Masinton told Chaffee County Commissioners Monday.

Masinton, delivering a report on BLM issues affecting Chaffee County during a work session in Salida, said both the artists and the opposition group are prepared to appeal if the BLM decision doesn't go their way.

"I anticipate, no matter what decision is made, we'll go to court on it," Masinton said.

Artists Christo and Jeane Claude are attempting to gain approval to stretch fabric over the Arkansas River in sections from Salida to Cañon City in a public art display. A group centered in Howard called Rags Over the Arkansas River is leading the opposition.

Although the project would only affect about 500 feet of property in Chaffee County, representatives from the county participate as a cooperating agency when the BLM holds meetings on the issue.

At the artists' request, the BLM changed course earlier this year and went from an environmental assessment of the project to a more comprehensive environmental impact statement. However, the environmental impact statement has not yet been initiated.

Masinton said the BLM is awaiting more detailed plans about the set-up, display and deconstruction of the project before proceeding. He also needs to hire a third-party contractor to conduct the EIS, which the artists will pay for.

"I've made no commitment to the artist or anybody as to whether we are going to allow this or not," Masinton said.

Anti-Christo ad upsets groups

source: Copyright © 2006 The Cañon City Daily Record

Anti-Christo ad upsets groups

Debbie Bell
The Daily Record

An artist’s rendering of the proposed ‘Over The River’ project, which would cover a portion of the Arkansas River west of Cañon City in 2010 if approved. An ad listing groups opposed to the project upset a few organizations.
Courtesy Wolfgang Volz

If the proposed “Over the River” project was not controversial enough already, an ad placed in the Cañon City Daily Record by a group opposing the plan stirred the pot to create an explosion of heated debate.

Rags Over the Arkansas River, Inc., placed and paid for an advertisement in the Aug. 4 edition that in-cluded a list of organizations it claimed expressed opposition to the project.

ROAR was formed to fight the project by international artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who propose to drape fabric over a portion of the Arkansas River west of Cañon City around 2010.

At least two of the organizations listed in the ad have demanded retractions, claiming they have no official position on the project. But the president of ROAR said the groups have gone on public record with opposition to the project, and he can’t understand why they are contesting the ad.

“When somebody says something, then I think they’re going to stand behind it,” said ROAR President Dan Ainsworth. “I’m one of those people who mean what you say and say what you mean.”

Ainsworth said the two groups demanding retraction, Deer Mountain Fire Protection District and Arkansas Valley Audubon Society, are actually on public record as being opposed to the project. He said he and Cathey Young, another ROAR member, have personally viewed letters the organizations sent to the Bureau of Land Management expressing their disapproval of the project.

“The letters listed their concerns,” Ainsworth said. “Now, they’re all backpedaling. They’re not necessarily changing their stance, they’re just trying to claim they never had a stance. That’s really not totally true.”

He also said SeEtta Moss, conservation chairperson for AVAS, attended a meeting with the artists in late spring and was vocally opposed to the project.

“She just went on and on about how she was against this project and it couldn’t be allowed to happen,” Ainsworth said. “She was so adamant about it at that meeting.”

Moss said in a “Letter to the Editor,” the ad “shocked” her because her group has not taken an official position on the proposed project.

“We did file comments with the BLM expressing our specific concerns regarding the impacts that the preliminary plans for the proposed Christo project would have on birds, other wildlife and other natural resources,” Moss said.

She explained the group seeks to promote good conservation practices and therefore is waiting for final information to address the issues.

“It is most unfortunate that our position was inaccurately portrayed in the ad,” Moss said.

The other organization protesting the ad, DMFPD, said they have taken a neutral stand on the Christo project.

“Obviously, they have not told the truth,” said DMFPD board chairman Ron Carter, of ROAR. “I saw the ad in the newspaper and was real surprised because it’s nowhere close to the truth.”

Carter said upon seeing the ad he called the ROAR office to demand a retraction and was told by the woman who answered the phone to write a “Letter to the Editor.” He said he argued for a separate paid ad retracting the claim and was eventually hung up on.

Ainsworth did not counter that statement but said Carter was speaking with the wrong person, Ainsworth’s wife.

“He called my home and talked to my wife,” Ainsworth said. “He started reading her the riot act, but she didn’t have anything to do with the ad. I called him back later that night, and we had a pretty good discus-sion about it.”

Carter said his organization is “working very hard to stay absolutely neutral.”

“We were very shocked and surprised that someone would misrepresent our stance this way and have no idea why they would,” Carter said. “Obviously, we do have concerns just like any responsible agency would, but we are going to work with all the parties concerned to see if we can resolve those concerns.”

Ainsworth took full responsibility for placing the ad, although the general content was approved by the ROAR board.

“We’ve already decided we won’t even use anybody else’s quotes or anybody else’s names from now on,” Ainsworth said. “We’re not going to quote anybody.”

Although further ROAR communications will reflect only the opinions and ideas of its members, Ainsworth still thinks there is an easy answer to the entire conflict.

“I think this whole Christo thing would be put to bed if people came out and said they were against it,” Ainsworth said. “People need to come out and say what they mean. Everybody is worried about being politically correct and not hurting anybody’s feelings or stirring the pot, but they won’t say that.”

Debbie Bell may be reached at dbell@ccdailyrecord.com.

Christo 'Over the River' proposal rolls slowly on course

source: Copyright © 2006 Rocky Mountain News

Christo 'Over the River' proposal rolls slowly on course

By Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News
August 12, 2006

CAÑON CITY - One year after the Over the River project moved back into the spotlight, it is still very much a proposal.

Over the River, which began in 1992, next will be the subject of an exhaustive environmental impact statement, to be filed with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The bottom line: Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude want to hang 750 polypropylene panels in eight sections over 6.9 miles of the Arkansas River between Salida and Cañon City. They estimate 250,000 people would visit the valley to view the work.

"We're being very cautious," said Roy L. Masinton, manager of the BLM's Royal Gorge Field Office. "The ball primarily is in their court. They need to get us the complete proposal."

When all the documents are in place, Masinton will make the decision about whether the project will go forward.

A year ago, some hoped the artists could install the fabric panels for two weeks sometime in July or August 2008. Now, the artists say the earliest it could happen would be that time period in 2010. And that would be if their projection of completing the all-important environmental impact statement happens by next August.

The couple is familiar with waiting: Their last art installation, The Gates in New York's Central Park, took more than two decades to gain approval - and cost more than $21 million.

It hasn't always taken that long. Their last art installation in Colorado, the two-time attempt to stretch a huge swath of orange fabric between cliffs in Rifle, took 28 months. The second Valley Curtain lasted only 28 hours, ripped down by a fierce wind. It cost about $700,000. But those more simple days are long, long gone.

So far, Over the River has cost between $3.5 million and $4 million, said Jonita Davenport, the project director for this effort and for The Gates.

"Each one of our projects all cost the same thing," said Jeanne-Claude of the inevitable question of a potential price tag for Over the River, during an interview before an Aug. 5 slide show here in conjunction with an exhibition of their work.

"Everything we have and everything we are able to borrow from the bank."

Project engineer Vince Davenport added: "With this project, they're going to go to two banks."

Since last August, Jonita Davenport estimated the artists had been to Cañon City 15 times, her husband more. The team estimates it has walked the river 12 different times.

"We want to provide the most thorough process," said project engineer Vince Davenport. "Every issue must be addressed."

A month ago the team, with its consultants and various specialists and agency representatives, conducted an anchor test on a stretch of private property on the banks of the Arkansas.

An actual survey of the entire stretch of river for precise mapping is to begin this week. Up until now, the artists and their project managers have been working from photographs to decide where panels will be placed around what they term "interruptions." That could be a rock, a tree, a spot where bighorn sheep gather or where they've been warned traffic can be dangerous.

"We can see every tree and every rock," said Vince Davenport.

The BLM's Masinton said that since a trio of scoping meetings in January, his agency has received about 1,500 public comments. The first batch they read, about 1,100 in all, ran about 60 percent con, 40 percent pro.

Opposition has surfaced from the group Rags Over the Arkansas River (ROAR) that draws strength from the population along the river. A Salida-based group, Friends of Over the River, also is observing the project.

Jonita and Vince Davenport "are in touch on a fairly regular basis" and the artists "stop in every time they are in town," said Masinton. The BLM considers its work on Over the River a 100 percent reimbursable project, and has billed the artists about $102,000 since last August.

The agencies with a say in whether Over the River flies range from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Natural Resources. Those that choose to become "participating agencies" will have a "seat at the table."

Ultimately, though, "we still have the final decision," Masinton said of the BLM. Which is why he has not attended their exhibition or any of their talks.

"I need to try to maintain an unbiased position with them. I need to make a decision based on the impact on and the appropriate use of public land."

The artists say there is no way to compare this process to that of any of their other projects. "Each one is so different," said Jeanne-Claude.

Here, it's a matter of convincing federal, state, county and municipal agencies - and a population that is torn by an essentially rural project.

During the Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-1991, where the artists placed 1,340 blue umbrellas in Japan and 1,760 yellow umbrellas in California, the couple had to woo rice farmers on one coast and ranchers on another to allow the giant objects to sprout on their land.

"We had to explain to 475 rice-field farmers, who don't speak English," Jeanne Claude began.

"Who said they didn't want anything religious there," added Christo. "The Mormons had tried to convert them."