Any of you NYC guys tell us what's going on with this in Central Park? Can you see anything yet? Impressive?

Lisa: Well, Dad, if the museum didn't inspire you, maybe you should do something *really* radical like Christo.

Homer: Is he that jerk that revealed the magicians' secrets?

Lisa: No, Christo is a conceptual artist who does huge outdoor projects. He once wrapped the Reichstag in plastic.

Homer: Not the Reichstag!

Lisa: Oh, yes, and he also set up hundreds of yellow umbrellas along the California highway.

Homer: Why did he do that?

Lisa: To make the world a more magical place, I guess. Although they did blow over and kill some people.

Homer: Killer umbrellas! Of course! Exquisite.

I've been meaning to open a thread about this topic, so thanks dcbucky for asking. Every morning I walk my dog Benoit to Central Park. Several weeks ago the process for the Gates began when the workers and volunteers placed massive black blocks throughout the part. These blocks on each side of the walkways will be the bases for the poles which support the flag gates. I bring this up only because when it snowed here last week, the poor souls had to shovel 8-10 inches of snow off of those bases--literally hundreds of thousands of bases as this piece is 26 miles long (?). I can't imagine that was too much fun, but everyone I saw working on the project really looked to be enjoying it.

This week the saffron colored poles went up. The Gates, which are flags hanging from the poles, will be unfruled today and tomorrow in anticipation of the Grand Opening on Sat (I think those dates are correct.)

The Gates are everywhere, and then again they are not in the most obvious places. For example, in my neighborhood the most beautiful walk in the park is the famous Great Elm Way which leads from the Shakespeare sculture to the Bethesda Fountain. There are no Gates on this walk. But around the circle of the Fountain the Gates fan out on their circuitous routes into the bald trees. I understand this time of year was chosen specifically becasue the trees are bare. And then there will be one lone Gate along a walk, sort of like an interruption or an abbreviation. The saffron color is very vivid in the gray-green of Central Park.

And the work that went into designing these
gates surprised me: I watched the volunteer erecting several gates, and the poles/beams are marvels (at least in my non-tech mind) of engineering. The are designed with a pivoting base which secures the verticality of the poles on uneven surfaces. The volunteers are out there on there knees with wrenches and levels precisely measuring the angle of the bases--very interesting.

I left NYC very early this morning, so I have not yet seen the flags unfurled. I will return from vacation just in time to enjoy them before they are dismantled. But one thing I was thinking about was how the Gates will obscure some vistas, such as my entrance on 67th Street. I imagene when the Gates are opened, as I enter the park I will not be able to see the park, only the saffron orange banners. But when I go through them to a hill I will be able to see the paths defined in a new way by the Gates. It will be interesting.

I'll say, I was sceptical, always have been. But already I think the Gates will be very enjoyable and provocative. Thanks for asking. I'll be happy to send you a postcard once they are available.

Gossip: it's rampant about this project, but I understand Christo and Jean-Claude (his wife and fellow artist) offered the prepatory drawings to a museum for 30 million dollars and were turned down.

I must admit, I wish I could see this. We looked at several Christo's works in my Honors English class last year. They are kinda weird. My teacher actually worked on the one in Florida (I believe it was Miami) where he surrounded islands with pink fabric.

He actually had one work in Colorado that I thought was interesting. He and his team spent days putting up a piece of fabric across a canyon, but due to high winds, it only stayed up for 28 hours.

I was going to start a thread on this, too, as there was an article and photo in the Globe and Mail this morning. A map of the gates.

Keith Oberman did a story about this on his MSNBC Countdown show last night and he was VERY upset about it. Just wait until the fabric is draped down and blowing in the wind! Oberman said the project cost $20 million...and I'm not sure if the security cost is included in that amount.

[ February 11, 2005, 06:54 AM: Message edited by: bobby78751 ]

Saw some of it on one of the morning shows this am. Looks ridiculous. Central Park is one of my favorite places. These tacky orange gates make it look like the line for a roller coaster at Six Flags.

There's quite a buzz about it in the city - plus, where I work (my boss is friends with Christo and Jeanne Claude) - so I'm looking forward to seeing it. I don't know that it's any great achievement, mind you, but I see no reason to be negative about it ... it's not a permanent installation. Projects like this are part of what make New York City one of the greatest places in the world.

Jeanne Claude was on the news and I love what she said. Something to the effect of it's just something to enjoy and, like all the best art, it has no purpose whatsoever other than just to be.

PS - Funny story about Christo & Jeanne Claude. If you look them up in our contacts database, there is a note that exclaims the following:

NEVER under any circumstances phone before 10:30 am. NEVER!!!!!!

Ahhhh, artists.

Thank God somebody brought this up. When we were in NYC three weeks ago, we could not for the life of us figure out what was going on. Thanksfully, they had those orange markers on the blocks or there would have been lots of folks tripping on the snow covered block.

George, I agree, it looks like a damn construction site waiting for the sedement barrier to be attached.

BTW, on his show last night, Oberman showed a pic of Christo's wife and he said to blame her for the color because her hair is almost the same color as the gates.

love it or hate it, we're talking about it! would that all art were able to generate so much reaction and thought.

I'm not saying I hate it. I'm just trying to figure the message Christo is trying to communicate.

There is no message. There's not supposed to be one.

For those of you interested, tonight's "Nightline" on ABC will be on this subject.

I'd figure their stuff looks better from an aerial view than on site. All those people who live on high floors with a view of the park are going to love it. I like that it has no meaning. It's just trippy and dumb and pretty and an unexpected jolt of color in the middle of nature but somehow perfect. Like those aerial pictures of the pink rings of fabric around those islands in FL. But up close, it may not be so great.

Well, screw it, then.

alright, alright, if you want a message, try this:

it is a series of gates, almost every few feet. what is a gate? it is a break in a boundary that allows passage from outside to inside (or vice versa). but when one passes through a gate from outside to inside, and encounters another gate, one has to query, what am i inside of? what am i outside of? and how many levels of inside are there? i'm always passing through gates....am i always inside or outside? is this constant passing from state to state (in to out) a reflection of life? an exaggeration of life? a minimalist (first time that word's ever been used in relation to christo!) mimicry of life? and they are in construction orange, so one could be leaving something under construction into something complete, or leaving something complete to enter an area under construction, and this repeats itself, too, raising the question, are we moving from a state of completeness to a state of building/construction or are we moving into completeness? is anything ever complete?

food for thought, bobby, knock yourself out....

of course, there is always the possibility he just wanted to create a pretty orange pattern when viewed from an upper-level apartment bordering the park......

[ February 11, 2005, 09:28 AM: Message edited by: thersis ]

Wow, thersis. That's impressive. Kudos!

I thought this thread was going to be about "Bill Gates" being covered in something by Christo.

Oh well...back to hampster wheel.

Okay...my opinion hs changed. This is awesome. I saw the Nighline special tonight and "Wow!". You New Yorkers are so lucky to be able to experience this. George Stephanopolis said it's like walking thru a croquet course. I'm getting up early in the morning to watch the unfurling of the flags on ABC.

The Gates unveiled.

I can't remember who said, some dude on tv, but he said that once the "gates" were put up, it was going to look like people drying their laundry... and he was right.

The only Christo work I saw/was a part of, since he has said those who came to see his work are "in" his art, was his wrapping of the Pont Neuf. It was great to see the bridge the week before he wrapped it in brown cloth and then when it was covered. Strange looking certainly, but as art, it captured the beauty of the bridge.

Two works of his I always wish I could have seen and experienced were the fence across Marin County farms and the wrapping of the Reichstag.

BTW, the TV coverage of the Gates is very pleasing to my eyes.

Spent a few hours there yesterday afternoon. It's a fun event for people, local and out of town. I agree that visually, it's probably much more impressive from a higher perspective. On the ground it's not that big a rush. And that color ain't Saffron, it's Orange Orange, just like Trix. Plus the material looks like something out of a construction site. Still, we will have some fun with it over the rest of the month. I will go back to see how it looks in different light at a different time of day. But I found the Pont Neuf, which I was lucky enough to see, much more impressive.

I agree that all the aerial footage and photographs are much more impressive than experiencing the Gates in person. We walked through them for a while on Saturday afternoon - and it was cool to see - but I do think the color is all wrong. There was one point where we were walking along the edge of the park and there was some construction happening on the street ... the color of the warning cones and signs matched the Gates almost perfectly. ha ha.

The cool thing for me about the Gates has been the excitement they've generated - Central Park was full of people walking around and enjoying the exhibit. That makes the Gates a big success in my book!

But, isn't just being a part of this amazing experience enough?

They had a Christo exhibit at the National Gallery in DC a while back, went to it. Interesting, I guess. Bunch of us have been talking about making a trek up to NYC to see the Gates but I think really it's just a high-brow excuse to go to NYC, shop, party, etc.

Word. I'm trying to coax BG into going this weekend.

(See related post in College Football)

Any reason to go to NY is a good one, and the Gates are an especially good one. No, they're not the 8th wonder of the world, but they really are interesting, fun, visually engaging; they give a definite beauty to the space. But then I like the color -- I think the orange /saffron is a good one. I was there Sat. morning. My first first thought was : nice, but ? Then as I proceeded to wander through they got to be more interesting and engaging. A thoroughly pleasant way to play in the prk.

But I wonder; why is there none in The Rambles?

And if you're in NY anyway, go see La Cage -- very fun and still wonderfully subversive.

I was there Saturday morning, too. It was fun to see the volunteers opening the "cocoons" and letting the curtains fall. I'll probably go back a couple more times to see them in different amounts of sunlight and wind. Out-of-towners should use this as an excuse to come and visit our fair city--and spend some money while you're here. You won't be disappointed.

Interesting profile of Christo and Jean-Claude on 60 Minutes last night. But I was wondering if anyone has heard what will happen to the gates when they are taken down? Will they be destroyed? Sold to bidders? On 60 Minutes, he said the good part of his work is that when they are gone, they're gone. "There will never be another Gates exhibit," or something like that. I imagine they could auction the gates to start funding their next exhibit. But they also seem like the kind of artists that would destroy the art when its purpose is done.

The Gates were featured on CBC news tonight. At first I (naively) thought this exhibit was supposed to be permanent, and I wondered about all the maintenance, ie replacing tattered fabric. But in the story it was pointed out that Christo and Jeanne-Claude spent $20 million of their own money for something that will be on display for just 16 days! I visited Central Park two years ago and it was beautiful even without the Gates, but I suppose a splash of bright colour in the winter doesn't hurt. Interesting tidbit from the story: Christo and Jeanne-Claude were born on exactly the same date (June 13, 1935).

I've heard nothing about their fate, but my suggestion is that the fabric be donated to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.

I will go see it with my bf this Sunday. Hopefully, the fabrics still look ok after having it 7 days under the tri-state weather.
As for the artists putting this up with their own money, I don't believe in free lunch. It is something they put in initially, and I am quite sure, they will get every penny back and more after this is over. I could be entirely wrong, but I am at this age when I believe that there's no good deed done $unpaid$ wink

Have read that the materials used for the gates/fabric will all be recycled. As far as I'm aware - no souvenier swatches of fabric or sections of the gates will be sold.

Yaay! I convinced BostonGirl to take a day trip to see The Gates on Saturday! We're going to meet up with one of my UF sorority sisters (also a big dyke) and have brunch, then stroll on over. If the weather's nice, we'll bring Farley.

So if you see a gaggle of middle-aged lesbos and an Old English sheepdog puppy, say hello!

[ February 15, 2005, 08:24 AM: Message edited by: GatorJamie ]

We'll be on the lookout! wink

On the Nightline special Friday night, it was reported that the project was completely funded with Christo selling prints and concept photos of what the site would look like. One photo was priced at $205,000. And keep in mind that this project has been in the works for 26 years. That's 26 years of raising money.

[ February 15, 2005, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: bobby78751 ]

A project worthy of countless adjectives! Provocative, weird, ridiculous, tacky, trippy, dumb, awesome, miniscule, derivative!

"Projects like this are part of what make Somerville Massachusetts one of the most obscure places in the world."

The Somerville Gates

Went there last Sunday and it's very memorable. I hope to have grand kids someday and be able to tell them that I saw this.

I'm wondering if there is an aerial view picture going around the internet.

Went yesterday with my partner, took pictures, found it exhilarating to walk across the park, over to Fifth Avenue, around the Reservoir, through the various connections The Gates created. It was a gray day too, so the saffron (orange) color added a lively visual touch to the park's landscape. Aesthetically quite wonderful--go Christo and Jeanne-Claude!

Got back to NYC today and quickly went to Central Park, with my dog, to see The Gates. The weather today in NYC was very unfriendly--cold, mushy, dirty, gray skies, slick sidewalks, huge puddles at corners, just a milion reasons not to go to the Park, but it didn't seem to stop anyone. Usually when I walk my dog in the afternoon there are maybe a few dozen to a hundred people in my area of the park. Today, there were hundreds, if not a few thousand; and suprisingly, so many so so many were smiling, happy and looking at each other. It was an amazing site and feeling. I was so happy to be there. My dog on the other hand was always running around the other side of the posts--man was that an effort.

But if you are anywhere near NYC you really should come in and see this event--it's just so fun and beautiful.

Agreed, agreed, agreed. We came on Sat. (left Farley at home) and had brunch in the yuppified Hell's Kitchen with a sorority sister of mine and other assorted dykes.

What fun! It was a real experience to be "part of" the art. A volunteer gave my artist friend Gayle a swatch on the promise that she'd create something with it.

It was terrific to stroll the park on a gorgeous day surrounded by happy people sharing the same experience. NYC at its best. I can't wait to come back.

p.s. George-tF: Next time we're in town, let's meet up!

Had my second walk with the dog and The Gates this morning; having The Gates up encourages, inspires me to walk longer than the normal 25 minutes in the morning. Today we walked to the Park entering on 72nd street and going to the Boat Pond, from there continued NW until we were behind the Met, crossed over the road and suddenly there WERE NO GATES. The Ramble, beautiful and notorious forest area of the Park, is without any Gates, mainly I'm sure because of the abundance of trees, low trees. But when you enter the Ramble, the absence of the Gates is immediate and a little shocking--they just disappear. So we walked behind the Boathouse and over to Bow Bridge, along the way finally catching new glimpses of the Gates and new perspectives. I must say that my area of the Park around the Great Elm Way and Sheeps Meadow is the most interesting. Around the Met was a little less thrilling. But what makes the Gates so smart and appealling is that the fabric is pleated, rather than just hanging straight, and the pleats benefit from each little wind that comes along. Still loving it.

Saw something in the paper that the orange color is reminiscent of Hooters. Indeed, the nearest Hooters reports an increase in business, although it may just be that more people are in the area. wink

How long are the Gates staying in place, anyway?

[ February 22, 2005, 05:27 PM: Message edited by: Joe in Philly ]

A total of 16 saffron days.

And reminiscent of food too...


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[ February 23, 2005, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: m1 ]

The project has ended, but Hargo's "Somerville Gates" have brought fame and honor to the 2624-acre blue collar town on the banks of the mighty Mystic River.

Even though The cleaning lady has come, one may still view a slideshow of the installation here.

I might be making a trip to see the Gates tomorrow. Ummm, the big ones, I mean...now that there are multiple displays I have to be specific. wink