The artists seemed cute and quirky enough. And the mayor was positively giddy about it. That should have been the kiss of doom.

Now I realize we all were pulled into a kind of mass hysteria orchestrated by a couple of charismatic snake-oil salesmen--also known as the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude--and their pretentious booster, Mayor Bloomberg.

"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?

It's enough of a sin that "The Gates" overpowers Central Park's soaring, hypnotic beauty. But the color of these bed sheets, plunked down on metal frames every 12 feet throughout the park, is so atrocious that the project's creators ought to be charged with assault.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude claim that the hue of the weirdly pleated cloth is "saffron." But, as any American junior-high-school kid will tell you, the precise shade is "vomit orange."

"I can't get over how much it looks like an advertisement for Home Depot," said a laughing auxiliary cop I ran into.

And he said he actually liked them.

i would pay the dallas price if a few arches had schwarma stands. i can live without christogogo, but dallas needs some real schwarma.

the christos should start selling condi dolls.
- LS (guest) 2-13-2005 10:57 pm

Are the Christos selling the items on eBay or are people taking souvenirs and posting them?
http://x.markdixon.ca

- Mark (guest) 2-14-2005 5:43 pm

OK, here's an anti-Christo piece, but consider the source: NY Post's designated pit-bull Andrea Peyser.
- alex 2-14-2005 5:50 pm

According to the the Post's news piece the swatches were given away to volunteers who are reselling them; the Christos are said to be more concerned with protecting the actual banners (and probably their image rights.)
- alex 2-14-2005 5:53 pm

Andrea Peyser's complaint:

It's time to let the truth be known: "The Gates" — that manically promoted, ludicrously expensive sculpture project now infesting Central Park — is the artistic equivalent of a yard that's been strewn with stained toilet paper by juvenile delinquents on Halloween.

It is the defacement of beauty, not its creation — a fraud perpetrated on the people by no-talent hypemasters and their chief cheerleader in City Hall.

Please, make them go away!

Walking into the park yesterday, I was assaulted by thousands of what looked like shower curtains twisting in the wind. I had found "The Gates."

Like a sucker in a game of three-card monte, I'd noticed I was about to be taken for a fool — and I'd ignored them.

The advance buzz had been all-consuming. "The Gates" was presented as the ticket for our stubborn, precious, maddening city to be elevated into something of a quasi-Eurotrash capital (except where the natives bathe regularly).

The artists seemed cute and quirky enough. And the mayor was positively giddy about it. That should have been the kiss of doom.

Now I realize we all were pulled into a kind of mass hysteria orchestrated by a couple of charismatic snake-oil salesmen — also known as the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude — and their pretentious booster, Mayor Bloomberg.

"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?

It's enough of a sin that "The Gates" overpowers Central Park's soaring, hypnotic beauty. But the color of these bed sheets, plunked down on metal frames every 12 feet throughout the park, is so atrocious that the project's creators ought to be charged with assault.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude claim that the hue of the weirdly pleated cloth is "saffron." But, as any American junior-high-school kid will tell you, the precise shade is "vomit orange."

"I can't get over how much it looks like an advertisement for Home Depot," said a laughing auxiliary cop I ran into.

And he said he actually liked them.

"A poet could say it looks like women's skirts," said Maureen Pielli, who drove down from West Chester, Pa.

"But the color!" said her husband, Arthur, who just couldn't get past it.

"I'm not impressed," said a young woman who works in the park making fanciful balloon animals for kids — an artistic feat that I'd like to see Christo and Jeanne-Claude match.

But that would take skill.

And the other article:

Thousands of New Yorkers and tourists flooded "The Gates" yesterday, many so devoted they wore the same deep orange that artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude used to dress Central Park.

"I did it to pay homage to Christo," said Richie Berlin, 64, of the Upper East Side, who wore an orange turtleneck. "He's returned to Central Park a sense of the giddy."

Another reveler donning an orange scarf agreed.

"I thought it would be cool to have the same color," said the 38-year-old woman named Claudia. "It makes me think of peace and Tibet."

Gate-heads were everywhere: Some said they follow Christo and Jeanne-Claude wherever they go; some philosophized; some stocked up on Christo merchandise; and some just walked along the 23 miles of park paths repeating the word "wow."

"I've seen his other works in person," said Patricia Spado, 58, who also wore an orange turtleneck. "I was in Paris in 1985 [for the wrapping of the Pont Neuf] and saw the umbrellas in California. I love all his work."

Joseph Ristuccia, 73, was also in Paris but said Christo had outdone himself in Central Park.

"It's like getting bathed in saffron," he said. "I like all the people here having such a good time. It's like a convention of Hare Krishnas."

Some said it was almost hallucinogenic.

"It's mind-blowing, like a Jimi Hendrix experience," said Mike Timko, 53, who came to see "The Gates" with his wife and daughter.

Timko was brought back to earth when he heard how much the T-shirt his daughter wanted would cost. It was going for $25, which the dad finally begrudgingly paid. "I guess that's what you pay for everything now," he said.

Children sat on their parents' shoulders and tried to touch the fabric.

There were cameras everywhere, and like many of the visitors, Tucker Pawlick could not stop snapping pictures. "I think that's part of it — people make their own art of Christo's," he said.

Anis Khalil, 33, who works for a photo agency, was one of many who tried to focus on the pure aesthetics.

"The colors are great with the blue sky and the grayness of the trees," he said.

People designated as monitors stood by the gates carrying large poles with tennis balls attached to the top. These gatekeepers would spring into action whenever the wind blew the fabric over the top of the gate.

They also had to break up a at least one soccer game.

"We wanted to use the posts [from the artwork] as goals, but they just told us we couldn't," said Charles De La Ferriere, 26.

There was much debate about the best place to view the gates.

"There's no question, the sculpture garden above the Met," said one spectator, who claims he's done nothing else but gate-watch since the installation was unfurled Saturday.

After experiencing "The Gates," many wanted to take keepsakes home with them.

"I just want to take one of the gates down and bring it home," said Mona Khalil, 29, a biology graduate student.

But Christo and Jeanne-Claude are making every effort to ensure that no one gets a piece of the work. The gates and all the fabric will be recycled after the 16-day stint, leaving not a stitch behind.

The oceans of orange and the endless hype were too much for some.

"It reminds me of Shea Stadium in an early color scheme," said John Zenkus, 44, of Manhattan, who caught glimpses of "The Gates" while cycling through the park.

Pete Scarlato, 55, of New Jersey admitted he didn't fully understand the work.

"I thought there was going to be art, like paintings, but this is like 21 miles of hanging curtains," he said.

Joking about the color, Scarlato quipped: "I finally found something that goes in my Florida house."

"The Gates," which can be viewed throughout the park, will remain until Feb. 28. There's a small chance of rain this afternoon, but the weather should be sunny the rest of the week.

Alex, was the 2nd Post article changed? I'm missing that part about the volunteers reselling the swatches. The version above says: " But Christo and Jeanne-Claude are making every effort to ensure that no one gets a piece of the work. The gates and all the fabric will be recycled after the 16-day stint, leaving not a stitch behind." But it also talks about people paying $25 for T-shirts. Are the Christos selling T-shirts? Very confusing. Also, how do you recycle nylon? They should donate it for clothing, sleeping bags, etc for the homeless.
- tom moody 2-14-2005 7:59 pm

there is a seconds market for used textiles im sure. i think the city gets trinket profits.
- bill 2-14-2005 8:16 pm

Hmm… the stuff about eBay was a sidebar that’s not online, and in my morning blur I may have garbled it slightly. I guess swatches were given out to all comers on Saturday. It’s sort of like a drug dealer: the first one is free.

Profiteers are turning Christo’s art into the Gates of Sell. Hours after volunteers started handing out a million free swatches of the same saffron fabric used in Central Park, the giveaways began showing up for sale on eBay.
Ronald Trinidad, who lives in Queens, was among the first to put the free swatches he received Saturday up for sale. He packaged the 2 1/2-inch square piece with photos of “The Gates” and sold them for more than $20.
“Someone sent me an e-mail saying I should be ashamed of myself because these swatches were given out for free as a memento,” he said. “A lot of people who aren’t in New York want…their piece of ‘The Gates.’”
Christo and Jeanne-Claude said they’re more concerned with attempts to plunder the actual gates.
For instance, the tarp used to cover the fabric of one gate before it was unfurled was listed on eBay for $499.
“The swatch is a free keepsake,” Christo and Jeanne-Claude said. “However, those who steal private property risk criminal prosecutions”

No shit, man. Fuck the Christos and their egos. Someone on Sally's page compared them to Che Guevara, I'd say more like George Bush imposing his infantile will on the world.
- tom moody 2-14-2005 10:37 pm

CPC volunteer embedded in a park under siege


- bill 2-15-2005 4:41 pm