From the window of his studio, artist Peter von Tiesenhausen can see the fence make its slow procession across his field. 

On one end, its pickets are pristine and white. The ground around it has been mowed. But as the fence travels east, its paint begins to fade and flake. Grass and shrubs grow up around it. Its boards are bent by thickening trunks shouldering for space. And one spot lies crushed by deadfall. At the other end, the fence is completely overgrown. 

The artist — who has exhibited in…