Christo - 'The Gates'Residents of the Arkansas river valley have had the ‘Over the River’ project on their radar for quite some time. Conceived and designed by the artistic team of Jeanne-Claude and Christo (Often referred to collectively as ‘Christo’), the project seeks to suspend a shimmering canopy of fabric over several miles of the Arkansas river for a period of two weeks, not to make a statement, simply because the artists feel that it would be a beautiful work. Since Christo began seeking the community and legal approvals to create the work, the project has encountered support and resistance with equal frequency. From concerns about the long term environmental damage to the rock used to mount the fabric, to suspected confusion for migrating birds, to anger over anticipated traffic snarls presaged by the huge influx of visitors eager to see the work, real questions remain to be addressed. Supporters argue that many concerns will be mitigated by both the good will of being associated with such a unique project as well as the expected economic windfall that tens of thousands of new visitors would bring to the surrounding communities. Currently, the Bureau of Land Management has a 2000 page document under review from the artists addressing many of these issues. While the project has been out of the news since late last year, it remains one of only two projects that the artists are currently pursuing and will undoubtedly resurface when they return to the area this summer. An unofficial blog has been tracking the news surrounding this project in local and national newspapers. More information about the artists and their work can be found on their website http://christojeanneclaude.net. What do you think about this project?

Photo Credit - Danny Hammontree Creative Commons License 2.0

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