RUNNING FENCE | |||||||||||||||||
| SONOMA AND MARIN COUNTIES, CALIFORNIA, 1972-76 | |||||||||||||||||
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On September 9, 1976 Christo and Jeanne-Claude unveiled Running Fence. The 18.5 foot high curtain/fence of fabric was more than 20 miles long, stretching from the small inland town of Cotati, California through hills, pastures and trees to the Pacific Ocean 24.5 miles away. It was the first work of art ever to require an Environmental Impact Report. More details and the complete statement of Christo and Jeanne-Claude are available in Facts & Figures. | ||||||||||||||||
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The fabric for the fence was originally woven to be used for automobile safety air-bags. But the Nixon Whitehouse allowed the car-makers to delay implementation of the air-bag laws for more than 10 years. That decision meant there was lots of air-bag fabric available at a reasonable price. Walking the length of the fence was an other-worldly experience. Like chanting a mantra, each panel was the same. But as one passed onto the next panel, it changed slightly. It was, after all, a new panel. | ||||||||||||||||
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Time and space were altered by the rhythm of passing panels. In the blink an eye, one could walk 5 or 6 miles. Or so it seemed. Christo said the Running Fence was a landscape with "an obstructive membrana" in place to block and alter the view, which transforms the ways people perceive it. | ||||||||||||||||
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