Famed Bulgarian-born artist Christo has dropped his plan to drape nearly 6 miles of the Arkansas River with shimmering cloth, stirring mixed reactions among environmental and governmental groups.
“After pursuing Over The River, Project for the Arkansas River, State of Colorado, for 20 years and going through five years of legal arguments, I no longer wish to wait on the outcome,” Christo, 81, announced in a statement online.
The controversial project that was first conceived in 1992 by Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, has been mired in legal battles as opponents feared the environmental impacts of the 14-day installation above the river between Salida and Cañon City that would take 2½ years to build.
Christo told The New York Times that he decided to stop the project, which is on federal land, because he did not want it to benefit its new “landlord,” President Donald Trump. Instead, the artist announced that he wants to focus on his only permanent large-scale installation, “The Mastaba,” in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Arab Emirates.
A spokesman for Christo said that he was traveling Wednesday and unavailable for comment. The artist is known for large, environmental installations. Some of his past work includes “The Gates” in New York’s Central Park, “The Umbrellas” in Southern California and Japan, “Wrapped Reichstag” in Berlin, and, in 1972, the “Valley Curtain” spanning Rifle Gap on Colorado’s Western Slope.
“Whatever Christo’s motivations are, more power to him as long as the decision is to cancel the project,” said Joan Anzelmo, spokeswoman for the project’s chief opponent, Rags Over the Arkansas River, or ROAR.
The group has been in a fierce legal battle against “Over The River” for years. Anzelmo said the project would have required drilling 9,000 holes that were 50 feet deep to anchor the fabric. Its lengthy construction process would have disrupted local traffic and wildlife, posing threats to bighorn sheep, bald eagles and fish, she said.
ROAR sued the Bureau of Land Management for approving the project, saying the agency violated its own policies and laws by allowing it in a designated area of critical environmental concern.
That suit is still awaiting a decision from the federal appellate court, but Christo told The Times that a decision in his project’s favor would not change his mind.
“We think it’s a win-win for the local people who live in the Bighorn Sheep Canyon. Certainly, it’s a win for the wildlife,” Anzelmo said. “Everyone can sigh in relief that the canyon will not be destroyed unnecessarily.”
Colorado river activist Gary Wockner was equally excited, although more snarky. “This may be the first good thing Trump has done for Colorado’s environment,” he wrote in an e-mail.
Not everyone is rejoicing, though. Christo’s decision is a blow to Cañon City, which was counting on “Over The River” to draw new visitors to town.
Cañon City Chamber of Commerce executive director Lisa Hyams said the world-renowned artist has a large following, many of whom would have traveled to see the installation. People outside Colorado know about Vail, Breckenridge and Aspen, she said, not Cañon City. This project would have given the city a chance to showcase its beauty and potential.
“There are multiple parties involved in any political process in the United States, and not always does your candidate win,” she said. “So to make a political statement out of art I feel is unfortunate. Not to mention all the people who are affected here by his political statement.”
Colorado Creative Industries director Margaret Hunt was also disheartened by Christo’s decision, but said she understood his reluctance to pursue an expensive, controversial project with an administration unlikely to be supportive — particularly at his age.
“You have to respect his reasons,” she said.
The loss of the project hurts economically, beyond the throngs of tourists that likely would have traveled to see it.
“It would have involved hundreds of other artists and volunteers in the installation and the execution of the project,” Hunt said. “It’s a real loss in terms of the visitors who would have come to Colorado to see the project and participate in it.”
The Salida Chamber of Commerce did not comment on whether the move was good or bad. The project was “a delicate subject at best,” executive director Lori Roberts said, noting that many in the city were split on the project.
But Roberts did say she was shocked, especially after the 20 years of work put into the project. She still remembers the initial meetings about “Over The River.”
“That’s a lot of time and energy encompassing everybody,” she said, “whether you liked it or not.”
