Running Fence: 5.5 meters high, 39.4 kilometers long, extending east-west near Freeway 101, north of San Francisco, on the private properties of 59 ranchers, following the hills and dropping down to the Pacific Ocean at Bodega Bay. Running Fence was completed on September 10, 1976.

The art project required 42 months of collaboration, involving the ranchers, 18 public hearings, three sessions in California Superior Courts, the drafting of a 450-page environmental impact report, and the temporary use of the hills, the sky, and the ocean.

All expenses for the temporary artwork were paid by Christo and Jeanne-Claude through the sale of studies, preparatory drawings, collages, scale models, and original lithographs. The artists accept no sponsorship.

Running Fence was made of 200,000 square meters of woven white nylon fabric, suspended from a steel cable supported by 2,050 steel posts (each 6.4 meters long and 8.9 cm in diameter) driven into the ground (91 centimeters), using no concrete and held laterally by guy wires (145 km of steel cables) and 14,000 earth anchors. The upper and lower edges of the 2,050 fabric panels were secured to the upper and lower cables by 350,000 hooks.

All parts of the Running Fence structure were designed for complete removal, and no visible trace of the fence remains on the hills of Sonoma and Marin counties.

As agreed with the ranchers and with county, state, and federal agencies, the removal of Running Fence began 14 days after its completion, and all materials were given to the ranchers.

Running Fence crossed 14 roads and the town of Valley Ford, leaving passage for cars, cattle, and wildlife. It was designed to be viewed along 64 kilometers of public roads in Sonoma and Marin counties.

(Text and photos extracted from the website Christo & Jeanne-Claude)

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