Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Running Fence Sonomo Snd Marin Counties, California, 1972-76


Whilst working on my current project - erecting a stile over one of the side gates at Kelvingrove Park Bandstand, I was advised to look at the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, most notably 'Running Fence'. This piece is a tremendous realization resulting from endless negotiations and raising issues addressing ownership, boarders, temporality, individuals vs. the state.


Running Fence, 5.5 meters (eighteen feet) high, 39.4 kilometers (twenty-four and one-half miles) long, extending East-West near Freeway 101, north of San Francisco, on the private properties of fifty-nine ranchers, following rolling hills and dropping down to the Pacific Ocean at Bodega Bay, was completed on September 10, 1976.

All parts of Running Fence's structure were designed for complete removal and no visible evidence of Running Fence remains on the hills of Sonoma and Marin Counties.

As it had been agreed with the ranchers and with the County, State and Federal Agencies, the removal of Running Fence started fourteen days after its completion and all materials were given to the ranchers.

Running Fence crossed fourteen roads and the town of Valley Ford, leaving passage for cars, cattle and wildlife, and was designed to be viewed by following 65 kilometers (forty miles) of public roads, in Sonoma and Marin Counties.

Public Art Project

Site Visits (23.02.10)

Having been making visits back and forth from site for the past couple of weeks, taking and checking various measurements, I finally managed to get the stile installed on the morning of the site visits.


A few adjustments had to be made, such as carving away a few indents so that the main posts would fit around protruding parts where the lock and chain were but apart from that it fitted rather neatly over the top of the gate.


I attached a small wooden box over the 'horns' at the top of both gates to prevent anyone from injuring themselves but also to function as a little something to hold on to as you are climbing over.



It also seems to function rather well as a table to eat your fish and chips on!


Having managed to put to tighten the last bolt as people arrived I was very much aware that I should really have installed it the day before to allow myself time to go and see other people's work - I sincerely hope that people did not think that I was not interested in their work and I do feel annoyed that I didn't get to see some of the other one off pieces to discuss later in the crit.

Jennifer Grant

Do you want the truth or something beautiful?

Jennifer Grant, Stile, 2009
Mixed media

Was sorting out some paper work over the weekend and whilst I was flicking through Issue 6 of the Collective publication, what do you know... I found this work by Jennifer Grant which is must have remembered on some subconcious level as it is very similar to what I had in mind for the Kelvingrove Bandstand. Would like to know more about the piece and where it was done - the accompanying desciption doesn't really describe the work as such, it's more of a story.

Queen's Park Ampitheatre

I thought I might go down to Queen's Park to compare the two ampitheatres. The sizes seem roughly simlar however the one in Queen's Park is lacking a Bandstand as it got burnt down in 1996.





The other interesting thing to note however is that the lower end is completely open and the gate at the top is unlocked. I don't see why it isn't the same for the auditorium in Kelvingrove Park considering that the actual bandstand, the main concern, is completely boarded up and secure.

Reviewing site for installation of Stile

I thought that the right hand side gate would be a good site for the stile as it is just off a public footpath which cuts accross the park from the pedestrian bridge.






I thought it would be good to try my hand at a bit of photoshop to get an idea of what the stile might look like once installed.

Maquettes for Stile

Here are some different versions of a stile which I decided to try out to help me decide on their visual appeal as well as making it easier for me to picture how easy it might be to climb over them.

Model 1: Proportions - 9 (top), 7 (middle), 6 (Bottom)

Triangle (Isoceles M & B)

Model 2: Proportions - 9 (top), 9 (middle), 9 (Bottom)

Spiral

Model 3: Proportions - 9 (top), 7 (middle), 9 (Bottom)

Triangle (Isoceles T & B)

Model 4: Proportions - 9 (top), 7 (middle), 9 (Bottom)

Equilateral Triangle