The ROAR is getting louder! That would be Rags Over the Arkansas River, a protest group formed to oppose Christo’s latest project, a $50-million public art event that involves suspending six miles of silvery fabric panels over sections of the Arkansas River. Over the River, as the scheme is called, was hatched with the artist’s late wife Jeanne-Claude, and has been in the works since 1992 -- a YouTube video, produced for a 2008 show at the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., has Christo saying that they picked the Arkansas because it was "the most rafted river in America." If all goes according to plan, the spectacular work goes on view for two weeks in summer 2013.
But first, the artist has to overcome stiff opposition from ROAR and other residents of the river towns around the site. And passions are running high indeed. In a recent Denver Post article on the dust-up, concerned citizens compared Over the River both to "hanging pornography in a church" and "a beautiful daughter sold into prostitution." Opponents worry about the hundreds of holes left in the river bank by posts used to anchor the panels in place (Christo has said he will fill these), the impact the giant art installation could have on local wildlife, and the possibility that the projected tourist hordes could overwhelm the area.
The federal Bureau of Land Management released an elaborate, 1,400-page environmental impact statement last month -- funded by Christo -- detailing potential concerns and offering a variety of proposals to address them. Public meetings about Over the River held in Salida, Cañon City, Cotopaxi and Denver drew "hundreds" of concerned citizens. A comment period has been extended through Sept. 13, and the BLM is set to issue its decision by next February.
But don’t think that Colorado is united against Over the River. According to the Post, many local businessmen welcome the promise of $120 million in tourism revenues, while Jack Chivvis, a local artist and rafter, thinks it’s all blown out of proportion, and that the controversy provoked by Christo might even be a healthy thing. "Most of the area he wants to drape is simply rubble," Chivvis said. "It’s not pristine. But whatever happens, he’s forced us to see that canyon in a whole different way. He’s made us think about why we love the river and what makes it beautiful."
"CENSORSHIP" AT TORONTO ART FAIR?
What could be better promotion for the upcoming Toronto International Art Fair, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 2010, than a little censorship controversy? The dispute broke into the open with an article in the Ottawa Citizen, detailing claims by the local Patrick Mikhail Gallery that the TIAF organizers were trying to exclude painter Andrew Morrow from the event -- apparently because his work is too racy for the Canadian art fest.
Morrow, whose work can be viewed on the Mikhail website, is known for paintings incorporating Conan the Barbarian-style imagery of macho men and nubile woman in various states of deshabile, sometimes engaged in sexual acts. It might be compared to the work of Lisa Yuskavage or other painters purveying an ironic and exaggerated form of kitsch. In one work, Still Life While Deliberately Avoiding the Topic of Vasectomy, Morrow presents some brushy painted fruit, while an arrow points to a white spot, labeled with the words, "Maybe Paint Three Penises Here." It would seem to be all in good fun.
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