Valley Curtain by Cristo and Jeanne-Claude - Rifle Gap, Garfield Cty, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 37.186 W 107° 45.816
13S E 262779 N 4389206
This marker retells the story of the 1971-72 Vally Curtain Project by internationally renowned artists Cristo and Jeanne-Claude.
Waymark Code: WMM4JR
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 07/20/2014
Views: 1
The marker reads:
Cristo and Jeanne-Claude
"The valley through the Grand Hogback, created by running water, once held an expansive orange curtain that stretched from valley wall to valley wall.
What a sight the valley curtain must have been-while it lasted.
On August 10, 1972, a group of nearly 100 skilled and unskilled workers tied down the last 27 ropes that secured 142,000 square feet of orange nylon fabric (the equivalent of over 3 1/4 acres) to its moorings at Rifle Gap.
The Valley Curtain reached heights of 365 feet and weighed 9,000 pounds. 110,000 pounds of steel cables and 800 tons of concrete for foundations were used to support the massive display, which covered the valley at a width of 1,250 feet.
It took two attempts and 28 months for Christo and Jeanne-Claude to succeed in hanging their temporary work of art, which was paid for by the artists themselves without any sponsorship. Then the wind took the valley back.
Just 28 hours after the creation was complete, a gale estimated in excess of 100 kph (60 mph) made it necessary to dismantle the art."
==============
(
visit link) for photos of the project and curtain.
There is video of the project at (
visit link) and (
visit link) . A thorough article may be found at (
visit link) .