NOREEN: Not sure about Christo project? See Wilber
Kat Tudor knows firsthand about the obstacles artists encounter when they try to create art in a public place.
Ten years ago, Kat and Bob Tudor’s eclectic creation, Uncle Wilber, began spouting joy in Acacia Park. Now, the popular fountain is a downtown institution, widely deemed as an important piece of the community’s fabric.
Local wags and art snobs criticized Uncle Wilber at the outset, but the critics are vastly out-numbered these days. The fountain was a gift to the city, which was unable to afford the costs of keeping the fountain going. The Uncle Wilber Foundation has raised money and done the job.
No harm to the environment, no damage done to the public treasury. Wilber’s primary residue consists of smiles on faces and giggles heard by anyone nearby when the tuba sounds and the water gushes.
All of which brings us to Christo’s “Over the River” project, which proposes to drape several miles of the Arkansas River with the famed artist’s fabric-and-steel art. An immense environmental impact statement, voluminous enough to drape the river all by itself, was paid for by Christo and recently completed.
It’s good for Coloradans to insist upon assurances the project would not harm the environment. Christo’s work around the world has a great track record and there’s no reason to think “Over the River” would harm anything.
The worst that can be said is that the project would result in a traffic jam along U.S. Highway 50 downstream of Salida. But the reason there would be traffic is that “Over the River” would be popular.
Kat Tudor went to Central Park in 2005 to see “The Gates,” another project Christo created with his late wife, Jeanne-Claude.
“I was struck by how much happiness it brought,” Tudor said. “It radiated out a huge emotional impact on the city.”
Skeptics might retort that New York City is hardly Cotopaxi, and that is, well, dang right.
But Tudor noted that “the piece in Central Park (see my blog) was just as fiercely opposed in New York.”
Comedians and talk shows hosts took their shots at the Central Park art, but as in the case of Uncle Wilber, the public response overwhelmed the naysayers.
This is one traffic jam Colorado should embrace. It’s OK if you don’t agree that Christo’s work is art, but is it really any skin off your nose if someone else sees it differently?
“I’m very much in favor of it,” Tudor said. “Experiencing the piece will be transcendent. And it will be a huge revenue generator.”
Yes, the visitors will have credit cards. Others will only see the work from afar on television, which will give Colorado a lot of free advertising.
Let your hair down, Colorado, and let Christo do his thing.
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