It's curtains for 'Gates'

[DoYouEverWonder]

Feb 27, 2005

The saffron gates that drew millions to Central Park could soon be a part of your home - as a flowerpot or piece of gutter.

A huge dismantling project starts tomorrow, with 300 workers aiming to remove the 7,500 fixtures within a week.

Every part of the artwork, which brought massive international attention - and lots of tourists - to Central Park, is scheduled to be recycled.

<snip>

The $21 million cost for the exhibit was picked up by the artists, who say they haven't made any money from it.

Profits from the sale of souvenirs, including posters, T-shirts and maps, are being donated to the city's parks and to Nurture New York's Nature Inc., a nonprofit that supports arts and the environment.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/285029p-244028c.html


For the folks that were concerned about the waste that this project might have represented, here you go. Seems most everyone had a good time and in the end a lot of people will benefit from the project. Way to go Christo. Good show.

[Hissyspit]

1. CNN reported hotel attendance went up about 10-20% for the two weeks

and so restaurant revenue and museum attendance probably went up, too.

[BR_Parkway]

2. Which is probably more help to their economy than everything ShrubCo

has done since his first selection.

[Hissyspit]

3. Good point. Homelessness is apparently up during Bush's terms...

and Christo put some homeless people to work at least for a few days.

[Rhiannon12866]

11. Abortion is also up during Bush*'s tenure

After a steady decline over the previous 10 years. Say anything about the Bush* economy?:shrug:

[Renew Deal]

12. The gates were a huge success.

Kids were off of school this week. I saw lots of parents on the trains and subways heading up there. I also know a lot of people that went to see it. They were buying from the local merchants (carts, restaurants) and visiting the Museum of natural history.

[TomClash]

4. I was far more beautiful than the Repuke Convention

[leftchick]

5. LOL! Good point!

I would take anything from Christo any day over these fascists.

[bklyncowgirl]

6. The Central Park hansom cabs were doing a great business too.

I had business in the city and took some time to go up and see it. Crossing the drives was difficult because you had to wait for a break in the steady streem of tourists sitting in carriages drawn by tired horses in varying stages of decripitude.

As for the "Gates" themselves, it was impressive from a distance but when you walked underneath the effect was rather claustrophobic. As someone who loves Central Park (a great work of art in its own right) I resented not being able to enjoy the usual interplay between the open spaces and the surrounding buildings.

Oh well, everyone has their own opinion, I'm glad that the materials used in the project will be put to a good use and also that the funds from souvenier and book sales will also be used to maintain the park. Frederick Law Olmstead may not be spinning in his grave after all.

[Hissyspit]

7. Perhaps that transformation - the forcing of you to recognize your...

relationship to the part was part of the point of the artwork? As I pointed out earlier in response to the Hilton Kramer "critique," Olmstead designed the park to be used by the public and city for cultural activities. It was intended to be interactive. As for charges that The Gates interfered with 'nature,' the park itself is artificial to a great extent. The original environment and ecosystems of Manhattan do not really exist in Central Park (There is a teeny-tiny little half-a-block or so somewhere downtown, I think, which does try to show the original ecological/flora appearance of the island.) It was highly manipulated and designed and is therefore artificial in its own way.

If "The Gates" had not been temporary and non-destructive it would have been a whole other issue.

As I tell my students, everything people do, say, or make is open to criticism and critique. But there is a difference between informed and well-thought criticism and criticism from ignorance (sometimes willful) and lack of awareness.

That is why I was a little disappointed by some of the judgmental criticism from DUers over "The Gates" project, and Keith Olbermann, too. At least Olbermann treated it with a sense of humor. (I thought the Gates parody with the orange peanut butter/cheese crackers was hilarious.)

Having said that, there are things about which you can be critical. This is hardly my favorite Christo/Jeanne-Claude project. It did look a little dated, I didn't care for the orange. But his projects address all kinds of issues very effectively (the whole idea of self-financed, self-contained art on a massive scale involving all aspects of cultural creation, for instance.)

[bklyncowgirl]

8. I agree with you. I think that fomenting discussion and ....

making people think about the space was a big part of the project.

And of course I agree with you too that Central Park is not a "natural" space. It was cleverly designed and manipulated to create a microcosm of nature in what Olmstead knew would someday be the heart of a busy city. Strangely, it seemed smaller with the Gates up--of course that might have been because of the hordes of people.

I'm not against the project by any means, I was just stating my reaction. Someone else may have had a totally different reaction and that's fine and I'm sure that's what the artist had in mind.

[Hissyspit]

9. I knew you weren't against it. I was mainly posting that for...

other people's benefit. I liked that you quoted the Kramer comment, too.

Another issue raised by the work. How much should we rework nature and who should be allowed it decide how and when we will? The next project is "Over The River," clothed stretched over the Colorado River for several miles.

[Rhiannon12866]

10. What will Keith Olbermann or David Letterman have to talk about?

They both ran with this story and wouldn't let it go!:-)

[xchrom]

13. wish i could have seen it.

christo really winds me up.
earth artists generally do -- and to have this one in ny -- love ny.

[Hissyspit]

14. Then you should go post at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3188126#3188412

:-)