glad to see you Joe! I so love the images of kids with the Gates.
Observations From A Barbarian at the Gates--
Remember, I'm a word person, not an art person. When I lived in New York in the 60's the apartment was on 105th Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. Except for one memorable October dawn, my sentimental attachments are to Riverside Park, not Central Park.
For me Public Art is as much a stage set for People Watching as a pure aesthetic experience.
Because of a complicated schedule, I saw The Gates on Monday--the park paths (as well as some of the city sidewalks) were covered with snow and slush, so my opinions are based on observation and contemplation rather than exploration.
The first glimpse I had of the gates was riding shotgun in a compact car looking for a parking space. As we circled the park we had glimpse after glimpse of square-shouldered, saffron rectangles.
Digression on the color saffron. I learned from the NYT's that the chefs of the city were perfectly willing to invent saffron flavored dishes as a part of the Gates Experience. Unfortunately, saffron in the kitchen is a yellow color. Talking to artists I learned that most of them felt The Gates fabric was somewhere between tangerine and salmon rather than a true color-of-monks'-robes saffron.
On my first glimpse I was reminded of driving through Wiltshire on a night with a full moon and scudding clouds and catching a glimpse of Stonehenge (before the roads were rerouted). The first glimpse or so suggested grandeur--but grandeur, by its nature, cannot be repetitive.
I was reminded of nomadic tents and great unwieldy migrating birds--or perhaps pterdactyls--but when the metaphors settled, I was happy with the notion of a very large, old fashioned circus with the Big Top somewhere off in the distance at the other end of all the carny booths.
Incidently at every entrance, hogging premium parking spaces, were dozens of police cars. I assume that this was a pre-emptive effort against terrorism. Unfortunately, police cars are now part of public art.
More sure-footed people than I were daunted by the slush on the park paths. I'd guess that 90% of the viewers at the shank end of Monday's daylight hours were milling around the entrance arches (which were exactly like the arches further in). The fashionable color in NYC for winter viewing is windbreaker charcoal. Many children were wearing pink or orange or blue-green pastels, but the predominant costume was a semi-gloss charcoal giving the spectators a flavor of well-organized meandering such as you might find in a long-established ant hill.
The skies were overcast. The paths were slushy. Off the paths, the park was covered with city snow, more light gray than white. The square frames of the gates emphasised the paths of the park.
Olmstead was a talented creator of landscape. The paths of Central Park were laid out to fit into the contours of the land--which had been bullied and bulldozed into assuming attractive vistas. The Gates--and the weather--confined people and leashed dogs to the paths. The leashed dogs seemed more natural than the charcoal people who were also confined to the paths.
Most adults that I talked to felt the exhibit fell short of inspiring grand rapture. I'd guess that nine out of ten adults wanted to fiddle with the exhibit--more colors, more opportunity for play in the fabric, change the ratio between fabric and frame.... One woman made a point of varied viewing: early morning, sunset, sunny days, cloudy days, night with flashlight, east side, west side, crowds, solitude....
She insisted that the view from the Upper West Side park on a sunny day just after seven in the morning when people weren't in the way was worthy of slightly subdued grand rapture.
Ten out of children that I talked to felt the whole project was rather silly. The eleventh, prompted by her mother who was determined that a Cultural Experience should not be wasted on her ewe lamb, said "Very moving", but was flummoxed when asked to provide details.
Like nomads and dinosaurs and old fashioned tent shows, the structures of The Gates is temporary. I wasn't moved to rapture, but I enjoyed my view of flawed grandeur. I still wonder where the Big Top might have been.
words are very
definitely your thing! I enjoyed reading that
Vivien--
Thanks for the kind words. By the by, I'm rereading Dorothy Dunnett's Francis Crawford saga and hope to move on to some of her later books.
Had Ms. D not described French royal spectacle so well, my view of The Gates might have been more contented....
Thank you Noddy! I feel like I have been there through your eyes. I am a big fan of Christo since the 70's, and I especially liked the umbrella project. Now THAT one was grandeur. I see that I would have still been happy to see the Gates, but I can also see that I would have had some disappointment. Yet, it is only in experiencing the "final product" that would be the case. For me, the art process of doing and experiencing is far more meaningful. I would have really enjoyed watching people and children play. To see all the various twists and turns of path, the differing light and shadows, and all the orange curtains as stage after stage, backdrops to human life, that would be my loss that I missed it. That part of the experience was really caught in the photo gallery of the smilingfgoat website with her sons.
Noddy - what a wonderful essay on The Gates.
My manager came back from NYC yesterday - spent 15 minutes at The Gates. So, what did he think? "It sucks. It's just cheap orange shower curtains. I don't get how that's supposed to be art."
Noddy, your writing about your experience iwith the Gates of Renown is a treasure.
Cobalt, ehBeth, Ossobuco--
Thanks for the kind words. Kind words from experts mean a lot.
Wow Noddy I really appreciate you insight. I am a fan of Cristo even though many artists are not. I like his interaction with different landscapes and do not consider it a infraction against nature since they are meant to be temporary color.
Joanne--
Thanks for the kind words.
Re-reading Noddy's essay.
Really hoping that I'll have the opportunity to see a part of New York with Noddy beside me. Really.
ehBeth--
We'd be a perceptive pair. I'm crossing my fingers about the timing.....
May Eve in the Big Apple...
Oh, I'd like to be a fly on the wall for ehBeth and Noddy in NY.
Joanne, it's great to see you.
Here's a link to a visit to the park from my fav architectural website, ArchNewsNow.com -
http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature159.htm
This is an interesting (to me) review, and has some good pictures.
huh
where'd my shoebag post go?
hmmmmmmm
mutter
(And now a "Christo and Jeanne-Claude The Gates" wrist watch is on my left arm..)
Yaaaay!
And, so, does it tell time?
Yeah, but it has no numerical display, is quite analog..
