The Gates
 

Although I know this is the Europe board (and it's the only one I participate in), I'd like to say how much we enjoyed spending our Sunday in Central Park! We were not the only ones there I should add.

BTW - Christo and Jeanne-Claude are of European origin, right?

I have been walking the Gates all day too, and it's a magical experience, but your post belongs on the USA or even the "other topics" board, where travelers ot New York in the next two weeks can find it.

Oops, opened your post by mistake, thinking it might be about Bill and Melinda.

Jeanne-Claude is French-born, I forget which country Christo is from,might be Eastern Europe--or Central :)

both are American citizens now, I read this weekend

It was a lovely sunny crisp day today in NYC, and the saffron fabric really lit up the park which was otherwise winter-bare.

Christo is from Bulgaria.

Please post your comments on the thread in the US forum (entitled, of course, "the gates").

Howard, as you know there is a huge thread on them on the US board. I don't think having a commentary on the gates on the Europe board (European artists doing an event in the US) is any different than a thread on the US board about Lance Armstrong winning the Tour de France -- and I know there have been a number of those. Some events are international in scope.

HowardR - I took a look at the US board - my first time - and yes, there's quite a discussion going on about The Gates.

Now, might I suggest that you invite those over there to our "I'm So Old That..." thread here on the Europe board? You can tell them there's (crossover) stuff about Korvette's, Howard Johnson's, Don Larsen, Uncle Miltie and all kinds of other goodies!

the Gates are wonderful - much better today with the blue cloudless skies than yesterday, which was overcast. The Gates glowed thoughout the park. And what crowds - people talking and laughing - and I agree with Patrick, it's an international event.

By the way, the roof garden at the Met is open during the installation. I trekked over for a view, but the saffron gates are barely visible. But there were quite a number of people who had the same idea.

Apparently, 7,500 of these were put up.

here is the link to the discussion on the US forum

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34565614

It's interesting skimming the discussion on the US board -- there're some naysayers. To be honest, I myself couldn't see what the big deal was, but of course was glad to see it anyway.

It'd be interesting to see how their conception had changed over the years, as this was in the works for over a quarter of a century.

Hi to all - my wife and I are NY'ers and we were joyously moved by The Gates. What a wonderful Valentine from Christo & Jeanne-Claude to NYC and the world!
Roger & Joan

Underwhelming and a waste.

A lot of New Yorkers agree.

Take it or leave it.

I heard some commentary on the radio today that the gates give an impression of warmth and sunlight, and that even on a cold New York winter day, when you walk under them you feel a sense of a warm, sunny day. Is that true, or was it just artistic PR hype?

It's PR hype, StCirq -- well, in my humble opinion, anyway.

Hype. Today was a sunny day in NYC anyway. Tomorrow will be the test -- gloomy and rainy.

And don't be fooled by this "saffron" nonsense -- it's "orange."

Most of us New Yorkers love The Gates and are chuckling over Gekko's rants! Oh yes, and quite a few tourists seem to be enjoying it as well.

< Patrick said, "Some events are international in scope.">
I happen to agree.
I'll be in NYC next week. I'm not going there specifically for the Gates, but since they are there I certainly will walk the few blocks from my hotel to see them.

<<But, as any American junior-high-school kid will tell you, the precise shade is "vomit orange." >>

Maybe Fodor's got the idea for its new design from this?

In that detailed post from the newspaper above here is the telling line:

"The Gates" is an abomination. Call me a Philistine, but how can one improve on trees, lakes and rocky outcroppings with miles of plastic-treated cloth?"


In other words, there is no way in the world this person was ever going to like the project. His mind (like so many others) was made up before he ever went to "experience" the gates.
So are we to be surprised that he, like Gekko, who ranted about the project before he saw it, didn't like it? I have a friend who HATES musical theatre. Perhaps he's the person we should ask to do a review of a new musical? I wonder if he will praise it?

By the way, art is meant to stimulate and to arouse controversy and thought. So there is NO doubt that this project has succeeded 100% in that regard.

$21 million spent to "arouse controversy"?

That's super!

I will never ever question how you spend your personal money. I don't understand why you criticize others for how they spend theirs. Especially since the spending of their money will raise millions (yes, that is true) for the betterment of New York. Do you have a clue how much this project is earning the city of New York, despite the fact the Christos are paying for all of it?

Hopefully enough to allow the Central Park Conservancy (of which I am a member) to repair the damage to the Park's beauty and <i>natural</i> assets.

And maybe the &quot;vomit orange&quot; sheets can be donated to the city's homeless . . . but I doubt the homeless would want them.

While I didn't care much for the project, I should point out that Christo donated 3 million dollars to the Central Park Conservancy (Google &quot;Christo donation Central Park Conservancy&quot; to confirm this).

By the way, did the installation really harm the park in any way? I don't think so -- no holes were actually drilled into the ground, as far as I know. It was all standalone, if I remember right.

it is too bad that gekko doesn't know more about the organization that he claims to be a member of. they have supported the project strongly from the get go, and have profitted from it also to the tune of millions of dollars so they can continue to do their good work.

I'm with you Gekko - You can't improve on nature. How can anyone find this dreck &quot;artistic&quot;? Somebody punch these people and tell them the Emperor has no clothes, please. I guess this kind of blind following explains why Barbara Streisand still has an audience too.

To paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart: &quot;I know Art when I see it, and this isn't Art.&quot; Cristo will go the way of Peter Max and Leroy Neiman in about ten years. You're gonna laugh that he was ever popular.

111op, yes it was stand alone and did not harm the physical aspects of the park.

Anything is better than building bombs.

Actually, now that I think about it, I wonder if there's a connection between Christo's art and Robert Smithson's:

http://www.robertsmithson.com/

When you think about it, maybe it needs to be experienced &quot;aerially.&quot; I'd be interested to know if there're any aerial photos of the installation. It's too bad that the Met roof didn't provide a nice view.

Perhaps some rich Fodorite who owns one of the coop apartments on Fifth Avenue or CPW can invite us for a party. :-)

Yes, Gekko, it did make me chuckle, when I saw that it came from the &quot;paragon&quot; (ha!) of journalism, the New York Post!
And, as already has been pointed out, the Central Park Conservancy is a supporter of the project and will benefit greatly in a financial sense from it. Its presence and participation was was easily noticed on Sunday.
And, now we have someone comparing The Gates to Barbra Streisand! It's getting laughable!

to ALL, including Gekko, (BTW Gekko, we can buy the Post for 25 cents, you need to offer original opinions intstead)
I have been working for the NYC Parks department as a Parktender volunteer for five years, and I've seen alot of public behavior in the park of all kinds, I must spend probably a third of my volunteer hour cleaning up defacement of the park by various people, and pets, etc.).
IMO, this is very much a NYC thing, although it will attract an international audience.
Cristo and Jean-Claude are longtime NYers, and have dedicated much of their time for the last 20 plus years to work with the communities surrounding the park, and the Parks department to achieve a way to install this glorious work and still repect &quot;nature&quot; in the Park, (which is entirely man-made). That is one of the most wonderful things about it, it is constructed in a way that turns no soil, and disturbs not a single branch of a tree. Unlike many public works of art, all members of the public can walk, skip and run right through it. I even talked to a 72nd street bus driver who loved it because he could see the gates from blocks away!

The saffron color is purposely designed to be the exact complement to the gray green of the environment at this time of the year. It reminded me of Tibetan prayer flags and Buddhist monk's robes.

In my twenty plus years of living in this city, I have to say that Sunday was one of the most joyous days I've ever seen in Central Park! And I also noticed that the crowds were smiling and very peaceful and friendly to each other, which is not always the case with Park crowds. It was an awe inspiring day! I know there are naysayers(what would NY be without them?), but the vast vast majority I obseved, from Harlem to 59th street, were visibly thrilled.

Even the gentle sound of the flags flapping when the wind passed through was like the sound a sail makes when you are in a sailboat. It was moving and beautiful. Today will be gray, and my mother and I can't wait to go there and see them in all their wonderful color bringing joy and warmth to the surroundings.

I signed up to work on the crews, but couldn't take park as a result of not being able to get the time off of work. How I wish I could have participated!! It is a grand success which will be remembered for generations.

I think this will be an incredible 2 weeks!!!

Oh, I almost forgot,
Gekko, I am one of the ones who cleans up after people in the park when I'm not working in the planted areas, and we're always looking for volunteers, since the public has been trampling the green areas since the park began. This is the normal state of affairs. Actually, it was LESS trampled than usual Sunday.
SO you're more than welcome to join me any day. There's always work to do!!! Here's an open invitation. I put in 400 hours a year, but if you have even 4 hours available, we welcome some help!!!

Bellastar, thanks for the thoughtful, insightful posting. (Now if someone more computer literate than I could copy it onto the much longer thread on the US forum.)

Since we are in the Europe posting, would be interested in knowing what the international view is? My friend visiting from France really liked it!