- The Gates
.
The books and other memorabilia distributed by Christo and Jeanne-Claude refer to the project as "The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979–2005" in reference to the time that passed from the artists' initial proposal until they were able to go ahead with it.
"The Gates" were greeted with mixed reactions. Some people loved them for brightening the bleak winter landscape; others hated them, accusing them of defacing the landscape. Some cyclists saw them as an obstruction which could cause accidentsFact|date=December 2007, although cycling is not legal on those paths. They received a great deal of their nationwide fame as a frequent object of ridicule by
David Letterman as well asKeith Olbermann , whose apartment was nearby.Construction and cost
The total materials used according to the artists were 5,390 tons of steel, 315,491 feet (96 km) of vinyl tubing, 99,155 square metres of fabric, and 15,000 sets of brackets and hardware. The gates were assembled in a 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) Long Island facility, then shipped to Central Park. The textiles were produced in Germany.
As one of the conditions for use of the park space, the bases rested upon, but remained unattached to, the walkways, so that no holes were drilled and no permanent changes were made to the park.
The artists sold pieces of their own artwork, including designs for "The Gates", to finance the project.
They offered a cost of $21 million, but have refused to explain the figure.
Greg Allen and theNew York Times attempted to itemize the costs and could account for about $5-10 million, given reasonable estimates for parts, labor, and costs related to the staffing of the installation.Installation
On
January 3 ,2005 , work began on the installation of the project.During the week of
January 17 , the park filled with workers using forklift vehicles to move the rectangular metal plates into position all over Central Park.There were small signs placed on every walkway in the park with alphanumeric codes which the workers used to place the metal plates onto the designated spots.
By
January 27 , most of the rectangular metal plates were positioned. Many had small orange plastic markers sticking up a foot or two (around half a meter) from each end, possibly intended to help people find the base plates if they were covered with snow. A major snow storm onJanuary 22 and extreme cold hampered progress.As of
February 7 , many teams of workers, wearing silver grey smocks, moved the vertical parts of the gates, and attached them to the base plates. The documentation describes the color as "saffron" but many local observers described it as orange.The attached vertical pieces were 16 feet (4.877 m) high, with a crossbar at the top from which the flag pieces were unfurled. The most common width seems to have been 11 feet (3.35 m) although the width varied, depending on the width of the path, from 5 feet 6 inches to 18 feet.
Opening
The project was officially launched on
February 12 ,2005 , when New York MayorMichael Bloomberg dropped the first piece of fabric at 8:30 a.m., with Christo and Jean Claude in attendance.The rest of "The Gates" were opened over the next few hours with large crowds of people watching. Generally, the crews of people who erected the gates were assigned to open them. They walked underneath, and used a hook at the end of a long stick to pull a loop hanging from the crossbar of each gate. That opened the cloth bag containing the "flag" part of the gate. The bag fell to the ground, along with a cardboard tube around which the flag was rolled. The flag part then hung from the crossbar.
By
February 13 , all of the flags were unfurled.The project staff remained deployed in the park, patrolling, and replacing damaged gates. One of the gates, near the Shakespeare Garden in front of the Delacorte Theatre, was vandalized and replaced frequently.
After the exhibition closed on
February 27 , the gates and bases were removed.More photos
:"Note: each caption is a direct link to the full size image."
Taken on
February 18 ,2005 from the roof of theMetropolitan Museum of Art :The following high resolution photos were taken on
February 23 ,2005 near the North end of the Great Lawn:Inspirations
"The Gates" alludes to the tradition of Japanese
torii gatesFact|date=February 2007, traditionally constructed at the entrance toShinto shrine s. Thousands ofvermilion -colored "torii" line the paths of the Fushimi Inari shrine inKyoto ,Japan . Successful Japanese businessmen traditionally purchased a gate in gratitude to Inari, the god of worldly prosperity.Related links
*
Christo and Jeanne-Claude References
* "Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Gates: Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005", ISBN 3-8228-4242-7: for pictures of the manufacturing process, early meetings with city officials, pictures of the completed project, design drawings, etc.
* "Christo and Jeanne-Claude", ISBN 3-8228-5996-6:for pictures and commentary about earlier projects.
* The HBO Movie "The Gates" scheduled to air February 26, 2008http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/thegates/index.html?ntrack_para1=insidehbo7_text
External links
* [http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.shtml "The Gates" on the Christo and Jeanne Claude website]
* [http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/02/25/gates.closing/ "Central Park's 'Gates' to close"] , a February 25, 2005 CNN story
* [http://nycgates.blogspot.com/ The Gates @ Central Park.] A community blog on which anyone may post comments about The Gates via email or mobile phone.* [http://greg.org/archive/2005/02/13/the_gates_bill.html " 'The Gates' Bill."] Greg Allen, greg.org, February 13, 2005.
* [http://vinestreetworks.com] 8 minute film for download: 'A Walk Through the Gates'
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/05/nyregion/05gates.html?ex=1267678800&en=92d43f37f76ee7a2&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland "Enough About 'Gates' as Art; Let's Talk About That Price Tag."] "The New York Times", March 5, 2005, investigates the $21 million claim.
* [http://www.yellowecho.com/eventgalleries/the_gates_central_park.htm The Gates Photo Gallery]
* [http://www.not-rocket-science.com/gates.htm The Somerville Gates] , a parody
* [http://www.extrageographic.org/magazine/arts/2005/050201_ny_gates.html In Pictures: The Gates - Extrageographic Magazine]
* [http://www.panoramio.com/photo/6093375 Geotagged photograph of "The Gates" - Panoramio]
* [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=128894&title=the-gates&byDate=true Stephen Colbert describes The Gates]
* [http://www.forgottendelights.com/essay/ChristosGates.htm Cave Paintings and Christo's "Gates": Art in Individual Minds and Public Places]
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