Christo+and+Jean-Claude

Special Exhibition Galleries, 3rd floor North, American Art Museum April 2, 2010 – September 26, 2010
In 2008, the Smithsonian American Art Museum [|acquired] the definitive record of //Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76,// a major early work by world-renowned artists [|Christo] and [|Jeanne-Claude]. //Running Fence,// the culmination of forty-two months of collaborative efforts, was 24 1/2 miles long and 18 feet high, with one end dropping down to the Pacific Ocean. This monumental temporary artwork was made of 240,000 square yards of heavy woven white nylon fabric, 90 miles of steel cable, 2,050 steel poles, 350,000 hooks, and 13,000 earth anchors. Paid for entirely by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the completed //Running Fence// existed for only two weeks in September of 1976. The exhibition includes components from the actual project, nearly fifty original preparatory drawings and collages, a 58-foot long scale model, and more than 240 photographs by Wolfgang Volz documenting the process and the many personalities involved with the project. Also included in the exhibition is a film by the legendary American filmmakers Albert and David Maysles, with Charlotte Zwerin. The film chronicles the unpredictable and ever-changing path that led to the completion of //Running Fence.// Janet Maslin, writing in the //New York Times,// described the film "Running Fence" as "the next best thing to having been there." A new film, //Revisiting the// Running Fence, co-produced by the museum and Wolfram Hissen from EstWest Films, recaptures the excitement that still vividly lives in the collective memory of the people who experienced the //Running Fence,// thirty-three years later. The story of //Running Fence// is not only a story of the inexhaustible perseverance of two artists over nearly insurmountable odds to create a temporary artwork of joy and beauty, but also the story of the people, places, and events that would become what is known as //Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76.// This exhibition, organized by George Gurney, deputy chief curator, tells us that story. The museum is grateful for the honorary participation and encouragement of these distinguished Californians: Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House; Senator Dianne Feinstein; Senator Barbara Boxer; Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey; Congresswoman Doris Matsui; Attorney General Jerry Brown; and Mayor Gavin Newsom and First Lady Jennifer Newsom, San Francisco.

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