Christo gives Central Park an Art Attack

[KurtNYC]

...Eventually, the bases will support 7,500 gates festooned with saffron-colored fabric panels along 23 miles of the park's pedestrian walkways - from 59th Street to 110th Street, east and west.

The $20 million project, a quarter-century in the making and financed by the artists, will go on full view on Feb. 12 and remain until Feb. 27. It is expected to attract thousands of art lovers from around the world. The artists are trying to create "a visual golden river appearing and disappearing through the bare branches of the trees, highlighting the shapes of the footpaths," according to a brochure explaining the project. The color was chosen to cast a warm glow over the park at a gray time of year.

There is nothing wrong with Central Park and we just spent millions redoing most of the grass and landscaping. Now here comes wrap-artist Christo with another meaningless ill-conceived art project. He will waste $20 million to hang saffron colored fabric all over the park. Why?? Because we let him. As usual they have phony predictions of how many hotel rooms this will fill, etc. The real money will be made by Christo selling coffee table books and all the un-necessary 'preparatory drawings.'

I note the article says that Christo has raised only $20 million and it will go toward assembly and security. I don't see anywhere where it talks about who pays for the damage once Christo packs his wrap and leaves. This usually means that the City taxpayers will pick up the bill. So while we send our kids to schools which don't have toilet paper, Bloomberg's priority is to let some millionaire artist play in Central Park on our dime.

[tridim]

1. Christo sucks IMO

He symbolically desecrates nature and calls it art. It's still a mystery to me how he ever became famous.

When I lived in Kansas City, he covered a park's concrete walk with yellow material. Huh? People tend to enjoy walking and biking on that path.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. I live in KC

and yes, that was stupid. But at least no one died. Remember those umbrella thingies on that hill in CA?

[Sparkly]

2. I don't know, it sounds kinda cool, BUT

it depends on what it costs the city, imho.

This reminds me of another Central Park "issue" we had when I was living in NY. There were free evening symphony concerts in the park, and everybody brought blankets early in the day and set them out to reserve spots, coming back to them later. It was a routine, we did it all the time. All of a sudden, the city decided that was bad, and started collecting up all the blankets, putting them in a big van. People demanded their blankets back. Finally the decision came down from on high that the city had to give everybody back a blanket from the van, but it wouldn't be the same blanket. Just whatever blanket.

Just a funny exercise in beaurocracy and a vocal public. I don't know why this art-in-the-trees controversy reminded me of it, but it did. :)

[Stephanie]

3. I'm thrilled. I've been waiting for this for years.

It's going to be absolutely beautiful.

I imagine the Central Park Conservancy will pay for some of it - that's a private fundraising group.

Art doesn't need a reason.

[Shakespeare]

20. From Christo's website, RE funding:

Christo & Jeanne-Claude pay the entire cost of the artworks themselves. They earn all of the money through the sale of the preparatory studies, early works from the 50s and 60s and original lithographs on other subjects.

They do not accept grants or sponsorships of any kind. They do not accept donated labor (volunteer help). They do not accept money for things like posters, postcards, books, films, T-shirt and mugs or any other products at all. None.

http://christojeanneclaude.net/

[jmowreader]

4. I never did "get" Christo

I'm sorry. I know I'm not part of the New Art Aesthetic.

But this guy Christo, man, I just can't figure his ass out. He comes in with fifteen miles of pink LDPE and wraps the Empire State Building. Next thing you know it's on all the news programs: Christo wraps Empire State Building in pink plastic sheeting.

Then he shoots half a mile of film of the project and sells tons of coffee-table books so everyone can sit around going "ooh, look at the Empire State Building wrapped in pink plastic."

And I'm sitting there going "so what?"

[greendog]

5. You're right, money on art is "wasted"...

...especialy if it's art YOU don't get. Let's just put it in a big pile and burn it. Maybe we could replace all those shitty NY art museums with something more productive....Burgerking?

And while we're at it we should round up all the pretentious little artists and give them a choice, do something PRODUCTIVE....or get your lazy ass locked up!

Cristo needs to get his head out of the clouds and CONTRIBUTE to America. Think of the talent wasted...he could have run a bottled water empire, or developed the "hot' new paper towel design, or designed the new packaging system for McDonalds (he likes to wrap things), or choreograph routines for NFL cheerleaders....something Americans care about!

America would be a much better place if we could just get these silly fools in line with our values.

[KurtNYC]

8. If you "get it" - what does it mean?

Central Park is beautiful. It is a work of art. If Christo wraps Michelangelo's David, does it become Christo's art? (And if so, is John Ashcroft an artist? he wrapped the statue of justice in a chador of blue cloth).

Under Giuliani, Central Park often became the private playground for rich coporations. Disney had a private premiere of 'Pocahontas' on the Great Lawn and there were film and commercial shoots galore. You would walk in to the park and have these star-struck production assistants telling you couldn't walk here or there.

As for your sarcasm, I didn't say anything like that. You don't know which artists I revere or any of my views on art and politics yet you feel free to try and shove your angry words into my mouth. From where I'm sitting, Christo is a rich guy who does apolitical art in public space (subsidized by taxpayers). Hanging orange laundry in my park says nothing about election fraud, Iraq, torture, tsunamis, etc. What Christo is about is this $65 coffee table book:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0300101384/qid=1104941670/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/104-2426546-4705501?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[cestpaspossible]

10. It means you don't need to justify it

to someone who wants to rain on your parade.

[KurtNYC]

12. I see so...

De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
Their innocence will pull me through
De do do do, de da da da
Is all I want to say to you
De do do do, de da da da
They're meaningless and all that's true

And it isn't Christo's park or parade.

[tuvor]

14. "Art should not mean, but be."

Can't remember who said it, but it makes sense to me. Othewise, you'll have to tell me what, oh, I dunno, Beethoven's 5th "means".

This project is art, no question about it. The real question is whether it's good art or bad art.

[KurtNYC]

15. Okay - Beethoven's Fifth =

those first four notes have drawn much of the attention. Beethoven himself allegedly described them as "Fate knocking at the door". It's an evocative image, but the source on that statement, Beethoven's sometime friend Anton Schindler, was known for not letting facts get in the way of a good story. Furthermore, the supposed conversation took place years after the symphony was finished, and Beethoven had been known to say nearly anything to relieve himself of questioning pests, such as Schindler. Whether or not there is a symbolic meaning to the notes, their musical meaning is clear: G and E-flat are two of the three notes that comprise a c minor chord. Thus, with this opening motif, Beethoven bellows at his listeners the key of his symphony, then hammers the point home by repeating the rhythm throughout the work. Sometimes ominous, sometimes triumphant, the four-note pattern remains the recurring element that unites the symphony's four movements.

http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/beethoven_sym5.html

Orange fabric hanging on steel frames = $65 coffee table book for rich people.

[tuvor]

19. My point is that notes can't inherently "mean" anything.

And I never understood why art always must "mean" something, anyway.

Art can (and probably should) evoke, hence "fate knocking at the door," but that's a strictly personal thing.

[KurtNYC]

26. I don't think it has to mean something in a concrete sense

Music is the purest and most abstract form of art. Notes don't mean something specific and yet combinations and inflections of notes can move people to tears (eg. Bach "Sheep may safely graze") or elation.

I agree with Carlos Santana, who said that as an artist and performer he tries to give his audience something intangible to take home: "chewing gum for the soul." Beethoven's Fifth presents a paradox -- how do the same 4 notes seem to evoke forboding in one instance and triumph in another? It is an interesting paradox which goes to the core of the human condition.

Here is my most generous interpretation of the Gates. The viewer is challenged to see Central Park in a new way. The dead of Winter, grey sky, leafless trees and then individual arches which taken together form a flowing moving river of color and motion. It plays with the warm color of the fabric against the cold white and grey landscape. It also seems to evoke a different kind of forest; as if each of the individual gates is a tree but taken together they are something which clothes the landscape, a forest.

[tuvor]

27. Well, I know you're not thrilled about the installation, but

I hope it evokes something good for you, nonetheless.

Speaking on the whole, remember that many of us are soooo jealous of what you guys have access to in your city. I guess the Christo thing is just part of having to take the bad with the good.

Cheers!

[leesa]

7. $20 million for nothingness. Christo sucks! And I am a practicing artist

[amazona]

9. I hate the abuse of landscape

I'm sorry, I know that Central Park is a valuable island of habitat in NYC, it does not need to be papered over.

Christo has done this elsewhere. He is a true eco-criminal.

Your right to artistic expression should end when you are depriving birds of habitat.

[Shakespeare]

21. How is he depriving birds of habitat?

An eco-criminal? Are you serious? :eyes:

[tuvor]

24. If an artist paints in acrylics, does that make him an eco-criminal, too?

After all, the stuff is nothing but plastic.

Just a thought.

[DS1]

11. 1) Who the hell is "Christo"

2) Nature is just fine the way it is
3) How pretentious, if you want to decorate Central Park, paint yourself a picture

[arwalden]

13. I Liked His Pink-Ringed Islands

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. His 'Art' is dangerous

During the two-week installation of the umbrellas, there were two deaths. A massive dust storm in California uprooted one of the umbrellas and it collapsed on a woman. In sympathy, Christo ordered all the umbrellas shut. Days later, upon their removal, a Japanese man was electrocuted.

http://www.notcoming.com/reviews.php?id=135

[ThorsHammer]

17. How does he fund this? Do NYers want this?

Call me ignorant, but I just don't see the point here, especially at a $20M cost. Central Park is great as is, and doesn't need "saffron covered fabric panels" surrounding it. If this is art, then isn't Ashcroft putting cloth on the statue art as well?

[Shakespeare]

18. Christo funds all of his own projects; accepts no outside money at all.

They're also all temporary. I'm really surprised at the amount of vitriol on this thread--I know he's not everyone's cup of tea, but geez...

I find some of his works lovely and whimsical, and have been following the evolution of the Gates project for many years.

[KurtNYC]

22. He raised $20 million privately

and is already selling his drawing and books on this project. NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Billionaire) gave this the green light. Bloomberg owns a Christo drawing btw.

As I undertand it the $20 million is for the installation and posting private security guards all over the park for the duration of the project. Who pays for damage to the grass (which won't be seen until spring) or any lawsuits for loss of lives or limbs (see umbrellas incidents above) is less clearly defined but I have to think the City would be on the hook since they approved this fiasco.

A fair number of NYer do want this project and are excited about its installation which is now underway. But with bird watchers still concerned with the hawks being evicted on Fifth Avenue (that borders Central Park) and this being NYC, this controversy is just beginning.

[ThorsHammer]

23. Thank you, that makes it a lot better

I wasn't sure if he was a rich artist, rich eccentric, both, or had private backers. I personally don't see the point, but if he's funding it and NYers want it, then I don't have a problem at all.

[Crankie Avalon]

25. I agree this is a bit presumptious of Bloomberg and this Christo-celebrity

...and as someone who lives within walking distance of Central Park and makes frequent use of it, I'm not sure I or anyone else in a similar situation will appreciate this imposition of someone's questionable pet project onto a resource intended for ALL NYers (not just the rich or spoiled--and often not even NYers but out-of-towners, no less), but try to look on the bright side--it's only for two weeks in February, a time of year when the working people of New York probably aren't going to be visiting the park that much, anyway.

I also agree that $20 million could do a lot more useful things than funding the temporary hanging of private laundry on the public's green space (think of what a donation like that to an elementary or high school could do), but at least it's this Christo-celebrity's money to spend and, HOPEFULLY, any overflow won't end up coming from ANY of the public's tax dollars.

And, finally, it's just one more reminder to vote out Bloomberg when the chance comes.