The Running Fence: 40 Years Post Gallery Guide

RUNNING FENCE: 40 YEARS POST
DOCENT GUIDE
Over the River/project for Arkansas River 1993
Current Exhibition Intro:
Running Fence: 40 Years Post
Four decades have passed since Running Fence graced the hills of Sonoma and Marin County in 1976.
The monumental artwork by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude consisted of a white fabric and steel-pole
fence 24.5 miles long and 18 feet high that was installed across the properties of 59 ranchers, flowing
over the hills between Highway 101 near Cotati and the Pacific Ocean. Running Fence existed for only
two weeks, but the project started well before the first of the luminous, white fabric panels was
installed. The project included debates and public hearings over the merits and potential impact of the
artwork. Christo and Jeanne-Claude had to file an Environmental Impact Report, the first of its kind for a
contemporary artwork.
In the time since its brief existence, Running Fence has lived on in the collective memory, most vividly
with those who were lucky enough to have seen it first-hand. Running Fence has grown in esteem and
has been placed among the most important artworks of the latter half of the 20th century. The
Smithsonian American Art Museum acquired an extensive collection documenting the work in 2008,
further cementing its place among the great works of art. Perhaps because of its ephemeral nature, as
well as the intensive process of obtaining permission to erect the work, Running Fence is intimately
bound up with the people who experienced it, with the ranchers who ultimately supported it, the
workers who built it, the visitors who admired it, the politicians who discussed it and even with those
who opposed it. More than simply an artwork that came and went, it has become part of a greater
cultural legacy in Sonoma and Marin Counties.
The Museums of Sonoma County are home to one of the largest collections in the nation of works by
Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Museum’s collection has its origin in the 1974 public hearings over
Running Fence. Tom Golden, a real estate agent and nurseryman from Freestone, met Christo and
Jeanne-Claude by chance after he heard the artists speaking before the Sonoma County Board of
Supervisors. Golden became friends with the artists and went on to work closely with them to help
realize several of their epic projects. In the process, he amassed a large collection of collages,
preparatory drawings and personalized works. In 2001, just a year before he died, Golden donated his
collection to the Museum.
Tom Golden’s remarkable collection reflects his friendship with and admiration of Christo and JeanneClaude. Over 100 original drawings, sculptures, collages and photographs lovingly trace their impressive
careers. Original works from the sculpture, Double Show Window, 1972, to a more recent collage of the
Over the River project, the collection captures the versatility, longevity and international scope of
Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Drawings and collages of the large-scale public works, sold to fund the
actual installations, are an important component of this collection. Those projects include Running
Fence, Surrounded Islands, The Pont Neuf Wrapped and Wrapped Reichstag among many others. There
are also a multitude of smaller projects represented in original drawings from the whimsical Package on
Radio Flyer Wagon to the haunting Wrapped Woman. Finally, unique to this collection are some small,
poignant pieces made especially for Golden, including a wrapped bouquet of flowers.
Introduction From Traveling Exhibition Educator’s Guide
What is art? This question, while probably as old as art itself, has become more prominent in the
twentieth century. It certainly is a question that arises when considering the work of Christo and JeanneClaude.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude are famous for their large-scale, environmental projects that have temporarily
altered urban and rural landscapes in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Each of the Christos’ projects,
from the earliest to the most recent, exists only briefly in the world, but is anticipated with suspense for
months and even years while being planned. More closely related to architecture in their monumentality
and realization than to traditional art forms, the Christos’ projects involve an incredible number of steps—
logistical, political, social, and economic. The important role that this process plays in the Christos’ work is
unique to these artists.
During the 1960s and 70s, contemporary artists questioned the meaning and practice of art. They
challenged restricting art to traditional mediums such as painting, sculpture, and photography. Artists
began pushing the boundaries of these mediums, and explored new ways to practice their art.
Performance art, conceptual art, environmental art and installation art are all movements that appeared
in these decades. All these movements challenged traditional notions of what art is.
The Christos began working during this period. Their projects challenge the definition of art on aesthetic,
social, and political levels. They have brought art outside the gallery and the insulated world that it so often
remains in. Their works bring the dialogue of art to the public, and to bureaucratic and political
environments that usually do not deal with decisions in art.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude have always worked independently, and they do not define themselves with
any one of these categories. Indeed, their works defy easy categorization: they are a unique mix of
earth, installation, conceptual, and even perhaps performance art. Despite, and indeed because of the
challenge of defining their art, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s work is a widely recognized touchstone of
contemporary art.
Biography
Born 1935 Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, Bulgaria
1935 Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon, Casablanca (to a French military family)
Education 1952 Jeanne-Claude: University of Tunis, Baccalaureat in Latin and Philosophy
1953-1956 Christo: Fine Arts Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria
1957 Christo: One semester at Vienna Fine Arts Academy, Vienna, Austria
Personal 1958 Christo moves to Paris, meets Jeanne-Claude, sheds his surname to be henceforth known
singularly as Christo and as a couple as the Christos
1960 Christo and Jeanne-Claude have a son, Cyril Christo
1963 Establish a permanent residence in New York
2009 Jeanne-Claude dies in Manhattan at the age of 74
Significant Projects 1961-1962 Wall of Oil Barrels – Iron Curtain, Rue Visconti, Paris, Duration: 8 hours
1968 Wrapped Fountain and Wrapped Medieval Tower, Spoleto, Italy, Duration: 3 weeks
1967-1968 5,600 Cubic Meter Package, Documenta IV, Kassel Germany, Duration:
1970-1972 Valley Curtain, Grand Hogback, Rifle, Colorado, Duration: 28 hours
1972-1976 Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, Duration: 14 days
1977-1978 Wrapped Walk Ways, Loose Park, Kansas City, Missouri, Duration: 14 days
1980-1983 Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, Duration: 14 days
1975-1985 The Pont-Neuf Wrapped, Paris, France, Duration: 14 days
1984-1991 The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, Duration: 18 days
1971-1995 Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, Germany, Duration: 14 days
1979-2005 The Gates, Central Park, New York, New York, Duration: 16 days
2014-2016 The Floating Piers, Lake Iseo, Italy: from June 18-July 3, 2016
1992-? Over the River, Arkansas River, Colorado, Pending, received approval and permits
The Christo Process
When discussing the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the focus is usually on the outcome –
the finished installation piece. However, the period of time that their work is installed is brief
compared to the years of work that are necessary for it. Their projects require months or even
years of design and approval, extremely long hours of meetings, and finally, intense physical
labor while installing their art. For example, Running Fence took four years to plan, approve,
and install, but it remained installed for only two weeks. All these steps are all integral to their
work. The Christos insist that the entire process - from conception to installing and
documenting a realized piece - is the art.
Determinedly self-sufficient, the Christos do not accept commissions, sponsorships, donations,
or volunteer work. They pay for all of their projects through the sale of preparatory drawings,
collages and models. Several of these are in the exhibit.
The projects of Christo and Jeanne-Claude are all created jointly by this husband-wife team.
Drawings, collages, and models are made by Christo individually. These are done in preparation
for all of their large-scale works, both realized and unrealized. They are works of art in
themselves. However, they also assist in logistical analysis of their concept, and, as mentioned
above, are sold to raise money for future works.
Tom Golden
The art of the Christos requires the work of hundreds of individuals to install. They insist on
paying all of the participants and refuse to accept volunteer work. Tom Golden, a resident of
Freestone in Sonoma County, happened to be applying for a county permit the same day the
Christos were applying for a permit to make Running Fence. A decades-long friendship and
working relationship began.
When the Christos presented Golden with a check for his assistance in Running Fence, he
refused and tore up the slip of paper. They insisted that no volunteer work would be accepted,
so he suggested his labor go toward credit for drawings, collages, and other permanent works
of their art.
Golden became the project manager for the California portion of The Umbrellas and continued
to participate in Christo projects. He amassed the largest private collection of Christo’s art. The
works in this exhibition are pieces from his collection, which he donated to the Sonoma County
Museum in 2001.
Selected Works
Wall of Oil Barrels - Iron Curtain
Wall of Oil Barrels – Iron Curtain was the Christos’ response to the Wall built in East Berlin.
Christo was a refugee from Communist Bulgaria. He was stateless, living in Paris, without a
passport.
Christo had been working with oil barrels since 1958.
They were large, cheap and unbreakable. In the
beginning, he would carry the barrels up to his tiny flat,
where he would clean and wrap the barrels before
carrying them down to a storage space he rented
elsewhere. With Wall of Oil Barrels – Iron Curtain, the
Christos established two prevailing themes in their career:
a temporary work of art, and working with walls, fences
or curtains.
The Christos’ prepared documentation, including a photocollage and a written statement, to request permission
from Paris authorities to install his work on a narrow, oneway public street. Permission was denied.
However, the Christos nevertheless installed the Wall of Oil Barrels – Iron Curtain. Christo
carried and installed each of the 204 barrels himself. The work remained in place for eight
hours.
Running Fence
Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, California, 1972-76 has been called the “loveliest
and most spectacular” work of the Christos’. This ambitious project culminated after four
years. For fourteen days a white nylon fence wound over the hills and pastures of Sonoma and
Marin counties, finally descending into the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. The fence was
18 feet high, and constructed of 2050 panels of white nylon stretched between 2051 steel poles
attached to 90 miles of steel cables.
In preparation for the project, the Christos tested the stability of the fence against high velocity
winds with contractors in Colorado. To attain approval, they presented their project at 18
public hearings, attended 3 Superior Court of California sessions, and commissioned the firstever Environmental Impact Report for a work of art. In addition, they received written
permission from 58 landowners to erect the fence on their pastures. Eventually, they received
permission from all necessary authorities except the State Coastal Commission. It was crucial to
the Christos that the fence ran into the ocean as they had originally conceived. Hiding from the
threat of an injunction, the fence technically was completed illegally.
For Christo and Jeanne-Claude, all of the meetings with the ranchers, the multiple permits, and
the heated discussions at the town meetings and public hearings were all part of the process of
the art, and was as much a part of the artwork as the artwork itself was. For everyone who was
involved in the work, the supporters and the opposition, Running Fence made a meaningful
impact on everyone.
Running Fence has been compared to an immense painting. The expansive white fabric
reflected the light, shadows, and colors of the land. The coastal winds would crack or whisper
along the fence, and fog would roll in and out around it. The fence was also compared to the
Great Wall of China; however, after the removal of the fence, no sign or impact remained on
the land.
The Umbrellas
The Umbrellas, Japan – USA 1984-1991 was the Christos first project completed in two different
countries. On October 9, 1991, after seven years of preparations, 3,100 umbrellas were
simultaneously unfurled. In California, 1,760 yellow umbrellas were scattered across a dry
valley north of Los Angeles. In Japan, 1,340 blue umbrellas were nestled into a fertile valley
north of Tokyo. The massive umbrellas, which were 19’8 ¼” high with a diameter of 28’ 5”, each
weighing 448 pounds, were open for eighteen days.
The Christos chose two inland valleys for this project. The placement of each umbrella was
specifically selected and mapped by the artists years before the installation. The piece was
intended to explore the differences and similarities between two cultures and their relationship
with their land. They chose bright yellow umbrellas and spread them whimsically across the
expansive, brown hills of California. The fertile valley in Japan was filled with rice farms and a
river. Blue umbrellas were carefully nestled into the water-filled environment.
The Umbrellas, Japan – USA cost $26 million dollars to complete. Again, the all expenses were
paid for by the artists by the sales of drawings, collages, and earnings from earlier works. They
applied to and received permission for the project from seventeen governmental agencies in
Japan, and twenty-seven agencies in California.
Wrapped Reichstag
Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin, 1971-1995 was the first work of art whose creation was debated
and voted on in a parliament. On February 25, 1994, Germany’s lower house of parliament, the
Bundestag, approved the project after an hour’s deliberation and a vote: 292 in favor and 223
against. One year and four months later the fabric was unfurled and the Reichstag was fully
swathed for fourteen days.
In 1971, the Christos had wanted to
wrap Berlin’s Reichstag, a government
building erected in 1894. The Berlin
Wall was built in 1961. The majority of
the Reichstag is located in what was
West Berlin; however, 139 feet of the
east façade were in the Soviet sector.
The Christos needed the approval of
the president of the Bundestag, and
after refusals from three separate
presidents, Rita Süssmuth offered to
help obtain the support of the
members of parliament, whose approval was necessary. The Christos identified three important
issues to address while lobbying the 352 politicians they visited for approval: 1) that they would
like to create a work of art by temporarily wrapping the Reichstag, 2) that this would be
executed at no cost to German tax-payers, 3) that all the materials used would be recycled
according to environmental regulations.
While the process for approval to complete Wrapped Reichstag held the reality of the work in
limbo, the Christos continued to research the logistics of the project. They built scale models,
designed collages, and sketched drawings in preparation. The Reichstag is a large building: 139
feet at the height of each of the four towers and a total perimeter of 1,520 feet, plus two inner
courtyards to drape. This required 119,603 square yards of fabric! To drape the building, they
employed 90 professional climbers and 120 installation workers.
Christo first envisioned wrapping a public building in 1961. His early ideas were proposed for
Paris, Rome, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York (which was to occur while they were
exhibiting Dada, Surrealism and their Heritage). Several of these other projects have not been
realized.
Wrapped Stapler
Wrapping familiar, household objects were some of Christo’s earliest works. He would bundle
chairs, bottles, magazines and even packages in cloth, plastic and string. Often the wrapping
would render the object unidentifiable. His act of obscuring a familiar object prompts us to
question the nature of the object, and the nature of our relationship with familiar items.
Wrapped Stapler is a sculpture whose materials are similar to those of the objet trouvé. Objet
trouvé or Found Object sculpture was made famous by the early twentieth-century artist
Marcel Duchamp. He was the first to take an ordinary item, simply add a title, and call it a work
of art. In Wrapped Stapler, Christo has used a “found object” – the stapler – as a material in his
work. However, he challenges our relationship to this object by wrapping and binding it. The
clear plastic leaves the stapler visible, therefore the identity of the object is never doubted. But
we begin questioning the functional quality of the object, the aesthetic quality of the object,
and the appropriate environment for the object.
Christo’s Early Life:
Christo was born Christo Vladmiroff Javacheff, in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, on June 13, 1935. His father owned
a chemical factory and his mother, Tzveta Dimitrova, was a Secretary General for the Sofia Academy of
Fine Arts until her marriage in 1931. Tzveta was Macedonian, having escaped with her mother and
siblings to Bulgaria following the Turkish massacres in Macedonia in 1913. In childhood, Christo was
surrounded by culture and art, and was very close to his mother. Christo also had an older and a
younger brother. The family managed to survive WWII in a relatively secure country house that became
a haven for artists and other friends trying to escape Allied bombing. Bulgaria belonged to the Axis
powers, though, and after the war, Bulgaria became annexed to the Soviet regime. For the Javacheff
family, this created a huge upheaval, as his father’s chemical factory become nationalized, and his father
being harassed and jailed for his Western education.
Early on in Christo’s childhood, he learned and practiced drawing. Later he moved to Sofia where he
attended the Academy to study painting, sculpture, architecture and stage design, all taught in the
Socialist Realist manner. Modern art was branded bourgeois and cosmopolitan. In order to obtain
course credit, he was conscripted to go out to the countryside and advise farmers how to best arrange
their tractors and best haystacks along the route of the Orient Express train from Paris to Istanbul, so
that passengers could admire the socialist and prosperous countryside. As onerous as propaganda work
was, Christo might have gained something from the experience: his communications skills and his sense
of art’s physical dimension in landscape may have contributed to his later work.
Even as a student, Christo ran afoul of socialist realism, and he realized that he would never be able to
see work by Matisse, Picasso, Klee or Kandinsky, or develop as a modern artist himself if he stayed in
Bulgaria. First he moved to Prague in the Czech Republic, then at age 20, he made his escape to the
West to Vienna. There is enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, staying only one semester, before
moving to Geneva and then to Paris.
In Geneva he started wrapping ordinary objects and tying them up into packages, in which the real item
loses its original function and operates on a new and unexpected plane. Once in Paris, he immediately
shed his Slavic surname, Javacheff, and henceforth, became always know by his first name. In 1958,
however, there was no market for his wrapped objects. To make enough money to live off of, Christo
used his training to paint portraits in any style the patron desired, traditional or modern. For Christo,
this was like prostituting himself, but he was successful at it and became highly sought after. One
commission was to paint a portrait of Precilda de Guillebon and her family. The Guillebons took a liking
to the young artist; in particular, their daughter, Jeanne-Claude, took a particular liking to him.
Jeanne-Claude
Jeanne-Claude was born on the exact same day as Christo (yes, in the same year) but in Casablanca to a
french military father and a fascinating mother, Precilda, who was 17 at the time. They divorced soon
after Jeanne-Claude’s birth, and Precilda remarried three times. During the war, Jeanne-Claude lived
with her father in Morocco while her mother fought in the French Resistance. While working at the top
echelon of the Free French army, Precilda met General Jacques de Guillebon. Immediately after the
armistice, they went to Morocco, where they found Jeanne-Claude in a state of neglect and squalor.
They quickly restored her to a better life, and Guillebon adopted Jeanne-Claude after marrying her
mother.
She was described as "extroverted" and with natural organizational abilities. Her hair was dyed red
and she smoked cigarettes, and tried to quit many times until her weight would balloon. She did not
enjoy cooking. She took responsibility for overseeing work crews and for raising funds She said she
became an artist out of love for Christo (if he'd been a dentist, she said she'd have become a
dentist).
Jeanne-Claude died in New York City on November 18, 2009, from complications due to a brain
aneurysm. Her body was to be donated to science, one of her wishes.
Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg described The Gates as “one of the most
exciting public art projects ever put on anywhere in the world—and it would never have happened
without Jeanne-Claude.”[1] Jeanne-Claude said, "Our art has absolutely no purpose, except to be a
work of art. We do not give messages. She also said, "Artists don't retire. They die. That's all. When
they stop being able to create art, they die."
When she died, she and Christo were at work on Over the River, a set of fabric panels over
the Arkansas River in Colorado (begun in 1992), and The Mastaba, a stack of 410,000 oil barrels
configured as a mastaba, a trapezoidal prism, in the United Arab Emirates.
Christo is still working on various projects, notably, he is currently working on The Floating Piers on
Lake Iseo, Italy. He has just received enough approvals and permits for Over the River, Arkansas
River and as soon as all the legal issues are resolved, he will set a date for that installation.
Vocabulary
Collage
A work of art made from assembling different media (photographs, drawings, newspapers,
prints, fabric, etc.) to create a new work. The term comes from the French verb coller, to glue.
Commission
Paying an artist to make a specific work of art which will thereafter belong to the payer.
Controversial
Something that provokes strong disagreement or disapproval. Throughout the history of art,
new styles of art or new movements have often been highly controversial.
Conceptual Art
Art that gives more importance to the idea of a work (the concept behind it) than the material
production of it. It began as an art movement in the 1960’s.
Earth Art
An art movement that begin in the 1970’s. Artists use the land as a material in their works,
often creating pieces that permanently alter the landscape.
Installation Art
An installation is a work of art made of a mixed variety of materials. It is site-specific (i.e., made
for a particular space), but generally created for an interior space.
Objet Trouvé
A work of art created from a found, regular object from the real world whose original use was
not intended to be artistic. The Surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp created the some of the first
objet trouvé sculptures in 1913, and coined the term “readymade.”
Public Art
Art that is intended to be presented in a public space and to be experienced by the public.
Sculpture
A three-dimensional work of art. A sculpture may be created out of clay, marble, wood, fabric
or any material the artist chooses. Found objects may also be considered sculpture.
Socialist Realism
Not to be confused with social realism, which is art that points to the suffering of the working
class and the poor, socialist realism is the official Soviet art form that was institutionalized by
Joseph Stalin in 1934 and was later adopted by allied Communist parties worldwide.
Site-Specific
A work of art that was created for a specific space. The artist considers such factors as the
environment, light, weather and function of the site when making the work. The site may be
indoor or outdoor.
Temporal Art
A work of art that was never intended to be permanent. It was designed and created to cease
to exist after a specific period of time.
Lesson Plans
Visual Arts
A. Create a Wrapped Object
Age: Adaptable for K-12
Materials needed:
1. An object brought from home or found around the classroom
2. Wrapping materials: butcher paper, waxed paper plastic, aluminum foil, cloth, etc.
3. Securing materials: string, tape, rubber bands, etc.
Have students create a Christo-style wrapped object sculpture. Instruct each student to
select an object from home to use as a work of art (or use objects found around the
classroom). Wrap the objects during class time with supplies offered. Use the wrapped
object to discuss both the process of making the artwork, and the nature of art.
Beginning:
1. How did you wrap your object? What worked, and what didn’t?
2. Does your object look disguised? Can you still tell what it is? Does it look like
something else now?
Advanced:
1. What are some possible answers to the question ‘what is art?’
2. Is the work beautiful? Is beauty or aesthetics important when considering art?
B. Make a Collage
Age: Adaptable for K-12
Materials needed:
1. Paper or cardboard
2. Pens/pencils
3. Glue or paste
4. Scissors
5. Old magazines
6. A variety of small objects to attach to the collage
7. (Advanced): Images of natural spaces or building/monuments
Christo would prepare for his and Jeanne-Claude’s large, site-specific works by creating
collages. The term collage comes from the French verb coller, ‘to glue.’ An artist makes
a collage by collecting a variety of different materials and pasting them together to
make one image.
Beginning:
In preparation for the project, have students bring small objects from home to include in
their collage. Give each student a piece of paper or a piece of cardboard to make a
sturdier background for the collage. Each student glues cut-out magazine images and
their objects to the paper.
Advanced:
Have students use an image of a natural space or building/monument as background for
their collage. Students will aim to make a collage ‘proposal’ similar to Christo’s.
After the collages are made, discuss the process. Consider the differences and
similarities between collage, drawing, painting, photography or sculpture.
Mathematics
A. How Much Fabric Would I Need?
Age: High School
The Christos employ many skills to create their art. A basic factor to each piece is the
calculation of exactly how much fabric is needed to cover a building, make a fence, or
span a valley.
Have students choose an object. It may be any size they want, but it must be
measurable, i.e. a cube, a basketball, a house, etc. They must determine the correct
formula for the surface area of their object.
Cube: 𝐴 = 6𝑎2 (a is the length of the side of each edge of the cube)
Sphere: 𝐴 = 4𝜋𝑟 2 (r is the radius of the circle)
Cylinder: 2𝜋𝑟 2 + 2𝜋𝑟ℎ (r is radius of the top and h is the height of the cylinder)
Triangular Based Prism: 𝑏ℎ + (𝑆1 + 𝑆2 + 𝑆3 )𝐻 (b is base and h is height of prism)
Working with basic formulas, students can discover the amount of fabric needed to
cover the entire object.
B. How Strong Is It?
Age: Advanced High School
The Christos had to consider the strength of the fabric used in their works. Factors such
as wind, rain and crashing waves tested the durability of their art and could impact how
long the piece stayed in place.
Explore the concept of a Newton and the formulas for the tensile strength of material.
Social Science/Geography
A. Art and Location
Age: Adaptable 3-12
Have students propose an outdoor location for their own Christo-style work of art.
The location may be local or global, depending on grade level curriculum. It may be
a natural space, or a building or monument. Have students collect or take pictures
of their location. They may either write a proposal, or make a visual plan for the
project, or both.
B. Where In the World?
Age: Adaptable 5-12
Materials:
1. World map(s)
This project may be done as a class, in groups or individually. Provide each student,
group or class with a world map.
1. Identify the different locations throughout the world where the Christos have
created their site-specific works.
2. Select pertinent locations to the class curriculum to discuss the history,
governments, culture, etc. of the country, state or region.
Resources
Films & Videos
Several films and videos have been made documenting the Christos’ projects. The most easily
accessible are:
5 Films about Christo and Jeanne-Claude, A Maysles Films Production (2004). 3 DVD Set
including: Christo's Valley Curtain, Running Fence, Islands, Christo in Paris, Umbrellas, interview
with Christo, Jeanne-Claude and Albert Maysles (December 2003), and deluxe booklet.
The Running Fence Revisited, a film by Wolfram Hissen, 2010, support by Smithsonian American
Art Museum, available on DVD.
Websites
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s official website:
http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/
Smithsonian American Art Museum Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Remembering the Running
Fence Exhibition official website:
http://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/archive/2010/christo/
Books
Beardsley, John. Earth Works and Beyond. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1998.
Boettger, Susan. Earth Works: Art and the Landscape of the Sixties. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 2002.
Chernow, Burt, Christo and Jeanne-Claude: A Biography, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: The Tom Golden Collection. Sonoma County Museum exhibition
catalogue. Santa Rosa, CA: Sonoma County Museum, 2001.
Phillipe, Simone, ed. Christo & Jeanne-Claude. Köln: Taschen, 1999.
Teshuva-Bahl, Jacob. Christo & Jeanne-Claude. Köln: Taschen, 1995.