A Walk in the Park:
Excursion to The Gates in New
York’s Central Park
"The
Gates" is an installation carrying through 23 miles of Central Park’s
pathways like orange-colored veins. Ever since its completion on February
12, Jeanne-Claude and Christo’s spectacular art event has been a topic of
discussion for art lovers, tourists, and the simply curious. And for New
Yorkers, too: Cheryl Kaplan dressed warmly and asked people on
location what they thought of the work.
Photo: ©Copyright Cheryl Kaplan 2005. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Cheryl Kaplan
A few days after the
opening of Christo and
Jeanne-Claude’s
The Gates in Central Park,
New York is more or less still in love with 7,500 saffron-colored gates –
a gift from the Bulgarian-born Christo and his wife, who have wrapped the
Reichstag in Berlin and the
Pont Neuf in Paris, not to mention a few thousand scattered
umbrellas in Southern California and Japan. On Saturday, February 12th,
crowds swelled to festival size, spreading through the park’s 850 acres.
The scene looked like a day at the races: everyone was out, including the
family dog. Mayor
Bloomberg couldn’t have been happier: hotel rooms were booked solid,
tourism went up, and the spill-off crowds in the Metropolitan Museum of
Art on Saturday were so large that it was nearly impossible to even get in
the door, never mind take the elevator to the Roof Garden for a grand view
of Central Park.
William Kentridge and Cheryl Kaplan,
Photo: ©Copyright Cheryl Kaplan 2005. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Cheryl Kaplan
On Saturday, I took my
first walk through The Gates with the artist
William Kentridge and his wife, Anne. He said: "The Gates look like voting
booths." She said: "It looks like laundry day in Tibet." By Tuesday night,
the crowds had diminished to the odd straggler or straggler couples
sweetly embracing between the curtains. Christo’s project, at first
rejected in 1981 in the wake of vehement opposition to the perceived
intrusion into the city’s largest and most historical green space, finally
gained public acceptance. The financing, however, was to be the sole
responsibility of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The cost: more than $20
million dollars to install. All merchandising and souvenirs, including
several editions of signed posters of The Gates, will be donated to
the not-for-profit Nurture New
York’s Nature (NNYN) and the Central Park Conservancy.
Established with the proceeds from the license, NNYN encourages awareness
and fascination for urban ecology through courses in public schools and
colleges.
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Photo: ©Copyright Cheryl Kaplan 2005. All
rights reserved.
Courtesy Cheryl
Kaplan
While the occasional grumbler is
quick to say the money would have been better spent feeding the poor, most
of New York seems quite pleased at the sheer diversion The Gates is
causing. A policeman driving a cart did say: "There are a lot less
homeless people in the park because of The Gates." Over the course
of a few days, I wanted to see how the park and people’s reactions had
changed. Here are some of their comments:
"The color is a bit
construction-like, but it really breaks up the deadness of winter."
"The Gates', visitors at Central Park,
Photo: ©Copyright Cheryl Kaplan 2005. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Cheryl Kaplan
"In the beginning it
looked ugly. At night now, the posts look like they’re glowing."
"I had a lot of pre-conceived ideas. We wish it could stay longer. It’s
probably more of a social statement than an art statement. It makes people
feel good, but you don’t need 7,500 of the same thing to say something
about art."
"At first it looked like a giant game of croquet."
Photo: ©Copyright Cheryl Kaplan 2005. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Cheryl Kaplan
"The park was full
till 6 p.m. Yesterday it was pouring rain and no one came out."
"I saw Christo’s other work on TV. I wanted to see what all the hoopla was
about."
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