The Museum of Sonoma County is commemorating the 50th anniversary of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's iconic 1976 installation "Running Fence" with an exhibition featuring blueprints, original construction materials, and documentary photographs. The temporary work, which stretched nearly 25 miles across Sonoma and Marin counties in California, required four years of negotiations with ranchers, 18 public hearings, and the first-ever Environmental Impact Report for a public artwork, ultimately costing $2.25 million funded by the artists through preparatory drawing sales.
The exhibition matters because "Running Fence" was a landmark in public art that transformed Sonoma County from a traditional agricultural community into an art hub, while also serving as a commentary on property rights, democracy, and government regulation. The project's rebellious descent into Bodega Bay without final coastal commission approval underscored its political dimension, and the show highlights how the artists' collaborative, community-engaged process was as integral to the work as its physical materials.