“Running Fence” was a 24-mile installation of 18-foot-high nylon sheets suspended between 2,050 steel poles, stretching across Sonoma and Marin counties and ending at the Pacific Ocean. The work resembled a white ribbon flapping in the wind and required four years of permitting, public meetings, coordination with ranchers, and resistance to local opposition. Construction demanded a 265-page environmental impact report, 300 workers, and more than $2 million. The project faced bomb threats and vandalism. Near completion, the artists were accused of violating the law by extending the installation into the Pacific Ocean without approval from the California Coastal Commission, prompting fears of a temporary injunction and an unfinished artwork.
"The artwork in question was “Running Fence,” a 24-mile installation by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude that wound through Sonoma and Marin counties, weaving across their rolling hills before dropping into the Pacific Ocean. In appearance, it was closer to a curtain than a fence, a series of 18-foot-high nylon sheets suspended between 2,050 steel poles. In its finished form, “Running Fence” looked like a white ribbon laid across the landscape, flapping lazily in the wind."
"The piece stayed up for only two weeks, but it was the culmination of a four-year effort, during which time the artists chased down permits, attended public meetings, rubbed elbows with ranchers and battled local opposition. The artwork had required a 265-page environmental impact report, 300 workers, and more than $2 million in funds to construct. In the process, the artists fielded both a bomb threat and vandalism from disgruntled neighbors."
"For the first time, the artists appeared to have violated the law. They had extended their fence into the Pacific Ocean without the approval of the California Coastal Commission. Dickenson, who worked at the Marin County Planning Department, had heard rumors that a temporary injunction was on the way. If Christo was served, construction would be stopped, and “Running Fence” would be left unfinished."
Read at SFGATE
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