Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Will Christo's art installation harm wildlife or help Colorado?

Where does art end and environmental destruction begin? That’s the conundrum that residents in south-central Colorado are facing over a controversial art installation proposal by the famed Bulgarian artist Christo and his late wife that would cloak silver fabric above the Arkansas River spanning a length of 42 miles. Proponents advocate that the project will bring art seekers to cash-strapped rural Colorado, but opponents feel the impact to nature will be disproportionately negative. The project titled “Over the River” has been in the works for nearly two decades (it was originally announced in 1992) and will have its fate determined early next year by the federal Bureau of Land Management or BLM. If approved, the work would be displayed for two weeks in 2014. According to Christo and Jeanne Claude's website, "The fabric will cover only 6.9 to 7 miles of the 40.7-mile stretch of river from Canon City to Salida and will be divided into 8 areas, allowing for frequent interruptions." “Over the River” is reminiscent of the art duo’s previous repertoire that has won them many critical accolades, including “Surrounded Islands” which draped shiny, pink polypropylene around a group of islands near Miami and “The Gates,” an installation that lined New York’s Central Park with bright, orange vinyl curtains...more

1 comment:

Walter Tully said...

There should be limits on the installation of arts. There are other ways to promote the state without harming nature in the process. Come to think of it; there's actually no need for promotion since the country's #1 venue when it comes to extreme snow sports and mountain get-aways is already Denver, Colorado. Parks and wildlife are the state's greatest asset; I don't see the need for these arts to promote the state's beauty.