Back in the early 70s, back in 1970
We were scouting for "Valley Curtain", the project in Colorado
and often we would go crossing the Continental Divide
who is at the top of the Rocky Mountains.
The United States Department of Interior built
aluminum fans
to keep the snow separate.
That's probably the first
image of a fence running, even there are fences all all around the world, running in all
directions, but I see up in the top of the Rocky Mountains.
Now I should say,
my name is Christo, but I can tell one important part of the project
is really the most missing part of the project is that Jeanne- Claude
is not here today. She would tell you so much more stories with the
ranchers, with the politicians, with the public hearings, with the publication
with the workers installation,
all that there.
The project, it was something unforgettable because we,
myself and Jeanne-Claude, would learn so much of
things we did not know. Each project for us is
like University, we're so eager.
We all
were working together, there was no one moment separate.
But ideas, it was coming sometimes from me
sometimes from her. It was very much like architects.
There are a lot of similarities of
architecture and urban planning, you need to compile
thinking, and proportion, and put together pieces.
That was also the story of "Running Fence."
Both of us were familiar with California landscape. It
was important to build that fence
between the ocean and the very busy road. But, we would fight.
We were absolutely the most argumentative people.
We are really arguing very ferociously, somebody think like, we would never talk to each
other together
for the end of our life. But she's was very very argumentative.
I also was very very stubborn.
This is probably the best thing because we are continually
criticizing each other. That is very
exciting. All our projects, they are temporary works of art.
They stay for a short time. After two weeks, all the materials
are removed and industrially recycled for other uses. They are very good materials: steel, pole, etc.
When the product is removed,
for all the projects, now i'm talking generally for all projects,
We take components of the project like pole,
cables, fabric, all these materials. We collect older
original drawings of engineers their paper,
all kind of diagrams.
Each of our projects has her own documentation exhibition.
Now this exhibition is addressing the project from the genesis
to the realization.
I would like for people to understand that
they can see the evolution of the project, or
how the project is crystallized visually
by reading the drawings. Because the very last drawing was done in 1976.
They're much closer to the real thing because we almost put the poles in the
landscape. In the first drawing, they are much more schematic, more
clumsy, more abstract, more simple because
we do not know how it will look in the landscape.
Now this is, in this story of the orginal works of art. I did
with my own hand. I used pencil, chalk, pastel,
wax crayon. I drew often, and the drawings, the technical data
diagrams. Often I used photography by voc and vos.
The little sketches, in the exhibition, they are a study for the larger drawings.
I did the first drawings,
and it's called, "Divide" and we find right away, that the
work is not a good divide, because it is not division basically
it's running. I make 2 or 3 drawings
and right away I understand that,
Jean and myself, we understand this very menacing
title, not inviting title.
This is why, soon after that, that drawing was probably in
the early 73 or late 72. It became
"Running Fence". In the summer
of 1973 Jean - Claude was driving me
with our friend, photographer Harry Shunk, and we were scouting an
area. We needed to find at least 2 or 3
possible sites. At least to be sure
what site, and what site we have permission to the project.
Number one, the most preferable site was Sonoma
Marin County just north of San Francisco. This is how
by late 1973 we decided that will be the site for "Running Fence" project.
Now, we were eager to do that in California.
I was very fascinated
by how the people live in California between the water,
Pacific Ocean, with the costal
culture with that very hospitable coastal line.
Moving inland, when the people start to build their
houses, the ranches they have on their property, they have their own
fences, they have barns. Going to subdivision, we have a subdivision called
"Happy Acres" very funny subdivision.
Crossing one of the main preoccupation of California, the highways,
and disappearing after the highways. The entire project was
running with that rural land,
subdivision, the small town of Petaluma.
The scale of the project was really the
average height of these
barns, and garages.
You know, the scale was something very related to the
man-made structure in the landscape.
Because only by having human activity we can have a scale of
the work of art.
The project was scheduled to be done in '75.
Only we discovered that, once we got
all the ranchers, we discover that a big problems start with the government
permission.
We were, our country, we were believing that
the ranchers was really the problem in the beginning, but
there was no problem with the ranchers.
It was hard, we need to convince some ranchers we need to
argue, but we were stopped
with the governmental permits.
It caused the committee to stop the "Running Fence"
It was taken to court. We go to the pellet court
in San Francisco when finally we get the permission.
The exhibition, in the way,
to show the control of the ranchers
and the way that public hearings is related. Because I should say, that with
not rancher's support, we would never get the permission
of the "Running Fence".
Each of our projects, they unique image. We will never build another big fence,
we will never sell any Islands. It is certainly,
all our projects, they are like living objects.
Not much of the public sees the project in still photographs.
To the still photography you can have some idea, but if you see them in
film, you can see much more of the energy
the fabric is translating, the incredible
force, and very
invigorating visible forms.
The fabric because we have extra fabric it would move in the wind.
The fabic was like at trap, the wind was traveling
to the panels. We have a gromit,
and the gromit has steel rings,
and the still rings of the gromit was,
when the winds was blowing, it was touching the poles and it
was making this sound like a Buddhist monk walking
in the forest, and it have the sound in the fog.
This
continues play of the wind
and in some way the fabric was showing the wind.
the wind, you cannot see it, only by this
energy of the fabric you can see the
physical, what the wind is doing.