Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence

Media - 2009.9.18 - SAAM-2009.9.18_1 - 70302

Christo, Running Fence (Project for Sonoma and Marin Counties, State of California), 1976, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment © 1976, Christo

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 42 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.

Description

The exhibition presented the majority of individual items— more than 350 objects—from the collective archive of artworks and related materials. There were 46 original preparatory drawings and collages by Christo on display, including eight masterful, large-scale drawings, each 8 feet wide, and a 58-foot-long scale model. More than 240 photographs by Wolfgang Volz, Gianfranco Gorgoni and Harry Shunk reveal the complex process of constructing the Running Fence and the many personalities involved with the project. A sequence of 22-foot-wide high-definition images of Running Fence are projected at the exhibition entrance to convey to visitors the breadth and scale of the completed project. The exhibition also included components from the actual project, including a nylon fabric panel and steel pole that visitors can touch.

This exhibition is organized by George Gurney, deputy chief curator.

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.

Visiting Information

April 2, 2010 – September 26, 2010
Open Daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m
Free Admission

Publications

christo_500.jpg
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence
The dynamic partnership of Christo and Jeanne-Claude spans more than four decades, and their enormous outdoor art installations are known the world over. From 1972 to 1976, Christo and Jeanne-Claude conceived, planned, and created the Running Fence, an eighteen-foot-high white nylon fence that stretched more than twenty-four miles across privately owned lands in Marin and Sonoma counties in northern California. Four years in the planning, the Fence was on view for just two weeks, but it remains a landmark event in contemporary art.

Videos

Credit

The Smithsonian American Art Museum appreciates the support of these generous friends who contributed to the Running Fence exhibition and book: Edwin C. and Jeanne Anderson, George W. Cogan and Fannie Allen, David C. Copley, Louis Corrigan, Tania and Tom Evans, Shelby and Frederick Gans, Goldman Fund, Agnes Gund, Marin Convention and Visitors Bureau, Nion McEvoy, Joan and Alan Mirken, Steve Oliver, Bernard Osher Foundation, Anthony Otten and Janice Kim, Jeannie Schulz, Sonoma County Tourism Bureau, Nancy Stephens and Rick Rosenthal, Roselyne Swig, and Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan.

SAAM Stories

Splash Image - Seeing Things (14): Christo at 80
Seeing Things
06/18/2015
Seeing Things (14): Christo at 80
This is the fourteenth in a series of personal observations about how people experience and explore museums. Take a look at Howard's other blog posts about seeing things. Today, celebrating Christo's 80th birthday and a look at his Running Fence.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Media - 2000.30 - SAAM-2000.30_1 - 45200
08/13/2010
Package 1961 by Christo
Just outside the exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence is a small earlier piece by Christo.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Christo - Maysles
Talks and Lectures on American Art
04/28/2010
Albert Maysles on Meeting - and Filming - Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Filmmakers Albert Maysles and his brother, David (who died in 1987), are recognized as masters of "direct cinema," the American cousin of French "cinéma vérité." They first met Christo and Jeanne-Claude in the early 1960s and filmed many of their works over the decades, including two that will be screened at American Art's McEvoy Auditorium on April 29, at 6:30 pm: Valley Curtain (1973) and Christo in Paris (1986).
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Media - RF.3.164 - SAAM-RF.3.164_1 - 71461
04/19/2010
Christo-Inspired Sketching Workshop
On April 20, in the Luce Foundation Center's weekly Draw & Discover sketching workshop, we will look at preparatory drawings, models, and photographs in the exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence, which opened recently at the American Art Museum.
Georgina
Media - 2000.35.2A-B - SAAM-2000.35.2A_1 - 68205
04/01/2010
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: On the Making of the Running Fence
With the opening of the much-anticipated exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence, Eye Level had a chance to speak with Christo about the making of the original outdoor installation, Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Media - RF.3.57 - SAAM-RF.3.57_1 - 68333
Talks and Lectures on American Art
09/11/2008
Fencing with Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, partners in art and in life, were on hand at SAAM Saturday afternoon for a screening of Running Fence, the film about the making of their 1976 project in northern California. SAAM just acquired documentary material and artwork from Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972–76.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Media - RF.3.310A-B - SAAM-RF.3.310A-B_1 - 68335
Talks and Lectures on American Art
09/03/2008
Up and Running with Christo and Jeanne-Claude
In the mid 1970s, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose outdoor sculptural works of art have captivated us for years, created their epic project, Running Fence, in northern California. We’re excited that Christo and Jeanne-Claude will be at the Museum Saturday afternoon.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Media - RF.3.228 - SAAM-RF.3.228_1 - 71525
09/24/2010
Drawing the Curtain on the Running Fence
"I hate to see the show go. It seems like yesterday that it opened. But when you think about it, the Fence was only up for two weeks!," George Gurney, deputy chief curator at American Art, told me last week when we were speaking about the closing of the exhibition, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Pozzi
09/20/2010
Remembering the Running Fence with Joe Pozzi
Joe Pozzi was only a boy when Christo and Jeanne-Claude approached his father for permission to erect The Running Fence on land that ran through their Sonoma County, California, property. We asked Joe if he would kindly share some of his memories of Christo and Jeanne-Claude and the Running Fence with us. The exhibition Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence closes on September 26.
A photograph of Howard Kaplan on a plane.
Howard Kaplan
Writer
Christo speaking with museum staff
Behind-the-Scenes
03/30/2010
Picture This: Duct Tape and the Running Fence
Running Fence, the monumental temporary artwork by Christo and Jeanne-Claude existed for only two weeks in September of 1976. It 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. In 2008 American Art acquired the definitive record of this artwork and our exhibition, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running Fence opens this Friday.
SAAM Staff
Blog Editor

Films

The museum commissioned a new film, The "Running Fence" Revisited, created for the exhibition by Wolfram Hissen from EstWest films. It was shown in the exhibition galleries, as was Running Fence (1978), a film by the legendary American filmmakers Albert and David Maysles with Charlotte Zwerin, and Running Fence with Commentary (2004, Plexifilm).

Artists

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Christo
born Gabrovo, Bulgaria 1935-died New York City 2020

1935
Christo: American Bulgarian-born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, June 13, Gabrovo, of a Bulgarian industrialist family.

Jeanne-Claude
born Casablanca, Morocco 1935-died New York City 2009

1935
Christo: American Bulgarian-born Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, June 13, Gabrovo, of a Bulgarian industrialist family.