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"Over the River" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Mark your calendars for late summer of 2014 – Christo‘s next project has been approved! In the incubator since the early 1990s, Christo and Jeanne-Claude‘s “Over the River” installation includes eight suspended panels totaling nearly 6 miles along a 42 mile stretch of the Arkansas River in southern Colorado, three hours southwest of Denver.

"Over the River" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Currently waiting further permitting, construction is expected to begin in 2012 and will culminate in a two week showing in 2014. The New York Times reports, “Christo’s larger-than-life vision [for this project] has divided environmentalists, residents and politicians for years over questions of aesthetics, nature and economic impact.”

"Wrapped Trees" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

The article continues, “Federal officials said that “Over the River” could generate $121 million in economic output and draw 400,000 visitors, both during the construction — which could become its own tourist event — and the display itself.”

"The Gates" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo’s projects – including The Pont Neuf Wrapped, The Umbrellas, Wrapped Reichstag, Wrapped Trees, and most recently The Gates in New York’s Central Park – are breathtakingly beautiful to witness. If you haven’t seen one in person yet, now is the time. Run, don’t walk, to Colorado in 2014.

"The Wall – 13,000 Oil Barrels" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Which Christo projects have you experienced? Share with us here on WallSpin.

Related articles

• Christo gets permission to wrap the Arkensas River (telegraph.co.uk)
• Artist Christo Gives National Gallery 2 Collages (abcnews.go.com)
• Christo ‘Over The River’ Project: Colorado Approves 2 Leases (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)

photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

As evidenced by the universal symbol of hands in prayer, the debt crisis looms in Greece. But in downtown Athens there are signs that the struggles have given birth to an artistic awakening, a recent New York Times article reports.

A work by the Greek street artist Hope is on view at the Kunsthalle Athena as part of an exhibition titled “Summer in the Middle of Winter.” photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

“The debt crisis here has created an intriguing bright spot: a burst of artistic activity in response to the national identity crisis it has provoked,” says Rachel Donadio of the NY Times.

A painting by street artist Bleeps.gr photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

Donadio continues, “Art galleries are thriving. Street artists paint tiny gems amid the growing downtown squalor. A new generation of filmmakers has captured the air of uncertainty by making the familiar strange.”

Another painting by Bleeps.gr photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

Similar to well known British street artist, Banksy, this artist’s identity remains undercover.

image from "Attenberg" by Athina Rachel Tsangari

Greece has submitted the film, “Attenberg,” directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari, to be considered for an Academy Award nomination this year. It’s happened before – creativity and art are not necessarily born of peaceful and easy times.

Rebecca Camhi photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

The Times states galleries are thriving, but gallerist Rebecca Camhi clarifies, “People are buying less and less…but there are more visitors.”  That art can be a comfort in times of despair, is not a foreign concept.

A work by Lydia Dambassina at the Kunsthalle Athena photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

The exhibition pictured above was held at the Kunsthalle Athena, reported to be a “beautifully run-down old building, a warren of rooms with peeling paint, ornate mouldings and spotty wiring.”

A work by the French artist Matthieu Laurette at the Kunsthalle Athena photo: Eirini Vourloumis for The New York Times

Evidently, art hung on moldy walls – a setting which aptly echoes the economic climate. In this photo, a sentiment many of us can relate to during these uncertain times.

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Related articles

• In Athens, Crisis as Muse (nytimes.com)
• In Transit Blog: Guess Where This Is (intransit.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Battered by Economic Crisis, Greeks Turn to Barter Networks (stevebeckow.com)
• Pictures of the Day: Greece and Elsewhere (lens.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Artist Paints Burning Bank on Day of Rage (zatista.com)
• Upset in San Francisco (zatista.com)

Circus Liquor, Plein Air by Alex Schaefer on Zatista.com

If you haven’t already heard, Zatista artist Alex Schaefer, painting teacher at world renowned Art Center College of Design, had a little run-in with the law again last month. Stirred by reading on the Internet that September 17 was to be a Day of Rage on Wall Street, Alex wanted to go out and make a painting.

Breakfast at Tommy's Burgers by Alex Schaefer on Zatista.com

In true artist fashion, and true to his emphasis on working from the live model, Alex camped out with easel and canvas across the street from the Los Angeles branch of The Federal Reserve to create a painterly image with a message (read Federal Reserve Bank in flames).

art by Alex Schaefer

Did I mention this is not Alex’s first painting of a bank in flames? He’s been known to paint images of symbolism on fire. Given this knowledge, guess who showed up while Alex was painting? Yes, Homeland Security. It’s happened before.

Bourbon Street, Plein Air by Alex Schaefer on Zatista.com

Indeed sacrifices are made in the name of art, but at least artist’s life is not boring. For more info about Alex’s work and links to other media including The Alex Schaefer Hour and an interview on Dan Rather Reports, click here. For a front row seat to Alex’s plein air painting of the LA Federal Reserve Branch, and his visit by the cops, see his video below:

What’s your opinion? Have any harrowing experiences of your own tell? Dare to share here on WallSpin.

If you missed our post about this last year, here’s your second chance. The Sketchbook Project – a group art project in which anyone from anywhere in the world can participate. Artist or otherwise, you and someone you know can be part of this project. To receive a sketchbook, pay $25, choose a theme from a list of 30 intriguing possibilities including: In Fifty Years, Fears and Tears, Treehouse, Heroes and Villains, or opt for the project to choose a theme for you.

Sketchbook by Duncan Reid

Sign up by October 31, 2011, and postmark your completed sketchbook by January 31, 2012. Tour begins April 2012 and will stop in Brooklyn, Chicago, Portland, OR, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, ME, Toronto, Vancouver, Atlanta, Austin, London, and Melbourne.

Sketchbook by Ken McCarthy

Creator of the project, Art House Co-op says, “Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the country. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view. For an additional $20, your completed sketchbook can be professionally scanned and uploaded to the official Sketchbook Project virtual archive. Visitors from anywhere around the world will be able to explore your work online.

Sketchbook by Kate Castelli

Once a sketchbook is barcoded, authors and artists can track how many times it’s pulled it from the shelf, on tour and in the library, so you can stay connected with your sketchbook. How cool is that?

If you did this last year, tell us all about it. If you’re doing it this year, we want to know. Happy doodling!

Proposed Apple campus rendering

If Apple built a building, what would it be like? An article about Apple’s proposed campus by one of my favorite architecture critics, Alan Hess, caught my eye last week. “This enormous circle, this infinite loop, this shining doughnut that will be the new Apple campus in Cupertino is both impressive and puzzling”, Hess states in the San Jose Mercury News.

Proposed Apple campus rendering

“If an iPad could be scaled up to building size, this would be it: The design embodies the signature aesthetic of Apple products – minimalist to the point of inscrutability – until they flash to electronic life and become a window to the universe. But what works for a device you hold in your hand does not necessarily work at the scale of an office building”, according to Hess.

Proposed Apple campus rendering

Hess goes on to say, “What’s puzzling about the design, whose blueprints were made public last week, is how conventional it is conceptually. It breaks almost no new ground in reshaping the Silicon Valley workplace, and where it does depart from the norm it causes problems for itself. The new Apple campus makes no essential addition to the successful Silicon Valley high-tech campus prototype introduced at Stanford Industrial Park 60 years ago, which has become as much an architectural icon as the skyscraper. The only difference at Apple will be the packaging, provided by internationally famous architect Norman Foster.”

Proposed Apple campus rendering

Not surprisingly, the planning process for the Apple campus is expected to last for one year. Fortunately, the discussions regarding the design of the space and the area surrounding the building are intriguing, especially as Hess sheds light on the finer points of the campus’ architecture. However, if the topic of a tech campus just doesn’t float your boat, check out some of Alan Hess’ books on other noteworthy topics including: Frank Lloyd Wright, Googie architecture, Oscar Niemeyer, John Lautner, or California ranch homes. If Mid-Century modern tickles your fancy, let me suggest the following:

Palm Springs Weekend by Alan Hess

This is one Hess book I could not live without!