Up on the northern end of the Arkansas River, in Colorado, locals are battling Christo and wife Jeanne-Claude over plans to suspend 5.9 miles of fabric high above the waterway. A group named Rags over the River contends that the project—although displayed for only two weeks, it will take two years to construct—will disrupt the Bighorn Sheep habitat and cause environmental havoc. (In this video, where the artist is eagerly dashing about the riverbanks, repeating the words "all fabric....all fabric....all fabric," you can sense how Christo's enthusiasm, and yes his substantial resume, might have helped convince the feds to give him the permit.)

Because Christo has been the subject of controversy before, his website offers a helpful/defensive "Most Common Errors" section, where you'll learn that the life of an artist is not easy (he works 14 hour days/7 days a week) and that it is a big mistake—"idiotic"—to call him "the wrapping artist" and no, he does not use plastic materials but fabric. It's hard to decide if his works are destructive—since every move is monitored, it would be hard to leave the site a mess. The artworks, however, can be dramatic and perspective-changing and they do in fact draw colossal attention to the environment. Someone should tell him about the views in the Ozarks.

More info at the project site Over the River.

From Joel Sternfeld's archives, a 70s flashback: North Carolina sunbathers, smokers, and plaid-clad hipsters at Luhring Augustine.

Nags Head, North Carolina, (#5), June-August 1975

Nags Head, North Carolina, (#28), June-August 1975

Nags Head, North Carolina, (#38), June-August 1975

Painstakingly crafted from sugar, this sweet little bra and panty ensemble was made by Giannina Coppiano Dwin and is on view at the Art & Culture Center of Florida in an exhibition titled Nothing We Can Call Our Own. Dwin, who was born in Ecuador and moved to the U.S. in 1970, also uses paprika, tumeric, and flour (her book Playing with Food is available at Blurb) in her ongoing exploration of themes related to women's bodies, nourishment and hunger, and transience. 

Untitled (Bra), 2009.

Untitled (Panties), 2009.

An impressive exhibition at the Museum of Design Atlanta, Graphic Intervention: 25 Years of International AIDs Posters, traces the history of AIDs-awareness efforts and offers over a hundred examples from around the world. Created by local and governmental organizations in an effort to reach and educate the broadest possible audience, these vivid works demonstrate the art of simplicity. It's endlessly fascinating to see how different cultures approach a subject often considered taboo.

Here is a tiny preview—

USA, 1986.

Iran, 2007.

Canada, 2004.

Canada, 2004.

Hong Kong, 1984.

Switzerland, 2002.

Switzerland, 2002.

To read about these posters as well as the many others in the show, visit Graphic Intervention, a site created by the exhibition organizers at MassArt. 

Atlanta photographer Jody Fausett presents a new series of photographs in Unfinished Business at Whitespace Gallery. Fausett's photographs have a David Lynchian quality—dramatic lighting on minimalist scenes creates theatrical tension—that is arresting and spooky. In these works, the artist explains, "what is missing is more important than what is visible." For example, there are no men in the photos, a deliberate reminder of the "loss my family has endured." Fausett's previous photographs (of taxidermied animals) are equally compelling.