Wrapping the River

You remember the old cliché: “I don’t know much about art, but I know it when I see it.”

No wait, that’s probably not the one I was thinking of.

I guess what I’m trying to say is art is in the eye of the beholder. Or is that beauty?

Whatever, the thing about art is it’s really hard to define. Most people would probably agree that the Mona Lisa is a fine piece of art. But is a blank canvas in a frame really art?

Some people say it’s art if it makes some kind of artistic statement. And that could probably include the blank canvas – no doubt a metaphor for our empty modern lives.

That brings me to Christo – you know, the so-called “environmental artist” who likes to wrap the natural environment in huge swaths of fabric or set up weird displays like thousands of giant umbrellas in out-of-the-way places.

Now, I’m of two opinions about Christo. He’s either a brilliant artistic visionary or a nut. I can’t really decide.

It wouldn’t really matter, except Christo has Colorado in his sights for his next big wrapping project. “Over the River” is another “temporary work of art,” as he describes it on his website, which would suspend about six miles of “silvery, luminous fabric panels high above the Arkansas River” along a 42-mile stretch between Salida and Canon City.

Fabric panels would be suspended at eight distinct areas of the river selected by Christo for their “aesthetic merits and technical viability.”

OK, maybe it sounds crazy to you, too, but the extremely successful Bulgarian-born artist has received approval from the Colorado State Parks Board to go ahead with the project, which is planned for a two-week display in August 2014.

More from the website: “From the water level, kayakers and canoeists on the Arkansas River will view blue sky, white cloud formations and the undulating mountain skyline through the fabric. Cars and buses on Highway 50 will also get a unique view of “Over the River” from the roadway, where the fabric will reflect the colors of the sky.”

Slightly nutty, yes, but Christo vows to pay for it all with his own money. And he also vows that – after the display – everything will be put back just the way it was.

Of course, there’s a group calling itself “Rags Over the River” – mostly local residents – that got upset by the idea and has sued the Parks and Wildlife Board over the intended wrapping because they fear too many visitors will come to the area and irretrievably damage it.

My advice to them: Lighten up, people. It could be fun and something you and your kids will never forget.

Admittedly, Christo’s work does have its dangers. In 1991, one of his huge umbrellas came loose in California in a 60-mph wind and crushed an onlooker.

Christo immediately closed down the display.

I guess I hope the Arkansas does get wrapped. Yes, Christo could be giving his money away to charities instead of wrapping nature in fabric to make an artistic statement.

But that wouldn’t be art.

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