Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Over The River

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."