Running Fence (Project for Sonoma County and Marin County, State of California)
Christo
American, born Bulgaria. 1935–2020
1974
A mixed-media design drawing—combining pencil, charcoal, pasted photographs, and a swath of actual fabric—through which Christo worked out how to run a sweeping, temporary fabric “fence” across coastal hills.
A real strip of white fabric intrudes into a black-and-white coastal view, slicing the scene on a dramatic diagonal while grids, handwritten measurements, and sketched posts make the artist’s planning and scale immediately legible.
This work documents how Christo translated concept into logistics, exemplifying 1970s site-specific environmental art that fused engineering and spectacle to make familiar landscapes newly visible and temporary.
Medium
Pencil, charcoal, crayon, acrylic, ballpoint pen, pressure-sensitive tape, staples, cut-and-pasted printed papers, board, and fabric on board
Dimensions
22 × 28" (55.9 × 71.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Lynn Hershman Leeson
Accession
800.2017
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
