June 27, 2009

Rags over the River: The Fix is In

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are Great Artistes, and zey have une grande vision artistique called "Over the River."

Those Coloradans who worry about the disruption of commerce, of emergency services, of their pitiful small town lives, et cetera -- they are like the squeakings of the mice. Ils sont très amusants.

Now politicians are lining up behind their "Over the River" project. All they see is the money.

If "Over the River" is ever constructed, you can forget about driving US 50--a major arterial--between Cañon City and Salida. They will need to one-lane it in certain stretches to hang the rags. Of course, Christo's people promise to minimize the disruption, but why should we believe them? Zey are artistes.

I have seen over the years what one wreck can do in terms of travel disruption on that stretch of highway, where there is no place to detour because you have a cliff on one side and the river on their other. It won't be pretty.

Then, if the rags are installed, the road will be jammed by looky-loos, tourists, and people who claim to understand Christo's art.

It occurs to me, however, that the project is planned right next to the "Blood of Christ" mountains, which matches nicely with the hubris of "JC/Christo." Is there an omen there?

Artspeak: Frequently reframing the forms and spaces of both the urban and the natural landscape, their work fosters a vital reconsideration of social dynamics, administrative systems, funding and public space.

Just think, this blog is a part of the social dynamics. We are all part of the grande vision, as were those poor mice who squeaked at the stormy public meetings.


mdmnm said...

Would it be monkeywrenching if the activity were directed at art, or would it be a "changing social dynamic, reframing the work"? That canyon is pretty enough without a bunch of crud strung over it.

Anonymous said...

One word for Christo: Photoshop