Turning Central Park Orange

[Christiern]

Christo is about to do his thing to Central Park. Some of his "Gates" will be across the street from me, so I have taken some pictures from my windows. Here (at the bottom of this post) is one from this afternoon--I'll get closer when they unfurl the stuff.--Chris

This time, wrap star Christo's open palette is . . . Central Park

BY TERESE LOEB KREUZER

Travel Arts Syndicate

NEW YORK - The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude think big and they are very, very patient.

This was the couple that wrapped Berlin's Reichstag in silvery material, surrounded 11 islands in Biscayne Bay in pink fabric and placed thousands of umbrellas on both sides of the Pacific Ocean for The Umbrellas, Japan-USA, 1984-1991.

Now they're working in Manhattan's Central Park on a project they call The Gates. Their plan is to erect 7,500 gates at 12-foot intervals (except where low-lying branches make this impractical) over 23 miles of the park's 58 miles of pedestrian pathways. Fifteen thousand steel bases are already in place, awaiting the 16-foot-tall vinyl poles from which saffron-colored fabric will hang.

`CRAZY IDEA'
The panels will be unfurled on Feb. 12, weather permitting, and will remain until Feb. 27, after which the structures will be disassembled and the materials, recycled.

The project, which has taken 26 years to bring to fruition, is expected to draw millions of visitors to New York City. The $21 million project is financed entirely by the artists themselves from the sale of studies, preparatory drawings and collages, scale models and the like. Some of the preparatory drawings for The Gates, for instance, have been purchased by museums for as much as $600,000 each.

''In some ways people see it as this crazy idea,'' says Laurie Carman, a sculpture student at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston who took a semester off so she could come to New York and work on the project. ``And in some ways it may be, but I'm just anticipating it being this beautiful thing throughout Central Park and a real gift to New York City.''

BEYOND THE PARK
Like Christo and Jeanne-Claude's other projects, The Gates is free because it is in a public venue where all can come and go as they wish. However, there are other places to see their work in Manhattan, and some of this, too, is free.

[ejp626]

Do you really think millions of people will come to NYC just to see this? Millions? Maybe I should try to check it out. I've always wanted to be a lemming.

[BFrank]

You can count ME as one of the "millions" who will be there for it.

These Christo things just don't happen that often. I was lucky enough to have seen the "Running Fence" in Marin/Sonoma Counties in '78. This will be equally dramatic, I think.

Another reason to go to NYC next week will be the rare opportunity to catch the Charles Tolliver Big Band at the Jazz Standard.

TWO.........count 'em - 2 BIG reasons to hit up New York in mid-February!

[BFrank]

Speaking of crowds:

NY Times

February 9, 2005

Barbarians (Well, Mostly Art Lovers) at 'The Gates'

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

In 1991 David Yust clocked 22 hours staring at a forest of yellow umbrellas in a valley north of Los Angeles. He spent 13 days in Berlin in 1995 marveling at the aluminum-surfaced fabric that draped the Reichstag, once rising at 2 a.m. for a reverential photo session of the sun rising over the enfolded neo-Renaissance landmark. And next week he plans to photograph a saffron-cloaked Central Park at dawn.

Mr. Yust, 65, is part of a far-flung group of followers of the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, whose latest public art project, "The Gates," is scheduled to open along 23 miles of the park's pedestrian walkways on Saturday. These loyal fans plot distant vacations, organize group trips and sometimes abandon jobs to bear witness to the artists' installations.

They are like the fans that long traipsed after the Grateful Dead, but with far fewer tour dates. They share the passion of people who collect milk glass, Manolo Blahniks or rare teapots, although their holdings are limited to books, pieces of fabric or, in the case of Caryl Unger, a shovel that was used to install "Surrounded Islands" in Biscayne Bay, off Miami.

Groupies? Gate-heads? They resist monikers. But their ardor for the Christo and Jeanne-Claude happenings is passionate.

Mr. Yust, an art professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, said he was first bitten by the Christo bug in 1983, when he signed on to work on "Surrounded Islands," in which 11 Florida islands were encircled by pink floating fabric, after hearing the artists speak at the university. Since then he has tried to see as many of the installations as he can.

"I thought about that project every day for the next two years," said Mr. Yust, who, like many of those who travel the country or world to see the team's work, is an artist himself. "I thought he was a big nut at that time. And I still think he is a big nut. But I am totally supportive of what he and Jeanne-Claude do. I feel they are among the last of the true idealists on the planet."

From art collectors to museum groups, tourists to paid Christo volunteers, the city expects 200,000 to flock to the city for the installation, which will remain through Feb. 27. Such figures, of course, are mere guesses for now. But there does seem to be universal agreement that in a traditionally slow tourism period, New York will draw record numbers of visitors, thanks to "The Gates."

Hotels that are usually half full or worse this time of year are reporting strong bookings, especially at establishments that line the park's perimeter. For the coming weekend, the Carlyle Hotel is 75 percent booked, a 30 percent increase over last year, said James McBride, the hotel's managing director. The hotel is offering a "Gates" package, which includes a park-view suite with catering for two hours for 25 people, at $6,000. "We booked one of them already," Mr. McBride said.

The Mark is sold out this weekend; last February, only half of the 176 rooms were booked, managers there said.

The artists estimate that thousands of people around the globe make a point of traveling to see their work, often signing on to help install the pieces. Smaller Christo communities hammer beams, tread water, twist fabric, answer phones or perform myriad other tasks to help bring a work together. There is even a blog on which visitors can record their reactions: nycgates.blogspot.com.

Those fans, as well as thousands of other visitors who are landing in New York over the next several days to behold the ornamented park, are expected to lift the city's tourism economy, usually lackluster this time of year.

"You don't go running up to New York in the middle of February from Miami," said Mrs. Unger, who is flying in on Thursday from Miami to see the installation. "But when I heard it was going to be in New York, I said to my husband, 'Please, let's go.' "

New York merchants, of course, hope the experience will be as remunerative as it is enriching. The Mandarin Oriental will offer a package including binoculars in each of its Central Park View rooms, as well as breakfast at Asiate and a Metropolitan Museum of Art book on the project, starting at $1,050 a night. La Prima Donna Restaurant will serve sautéed Prince Edward Island mussels, in a saffron cream sauce. You get the idea.

For the record, the artists do not earn income from the detritus left behind once a project is over. "The Gates" will be industrially recycled, and proceeds from the sale of "Gates" sweatshirts and other souvenirs will be donated to Nurture New York's Nature and the Central Park Conservancy. The project, which will cost more than $20 million to install, will be paid for by the artists.

Organized groups are coming from Japan, Germany and many American cities to see the work, a great many of them made up of artists or art collectors.

Ruth Halperin, chairwoman of Contemporary Collectors Circle of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, will fly in with 25 museum members on her fourth Christo trip.

"We went to Fresno to see the umbrellas," said Ms. Halperin, who is 77. "We went to Paris, and we saw "Running Fence," she said, referring to the draping of the Pont-Neuf in Champagne-colored cloth in 1985 and a 24-mile nylon curtain that stretched through Sonoma and Marin Counties in California in 1976. " 'Running Fence' - to me that was the most beautiful one," she said. "The hills were beautiful and soft, and the light as the wind blew was magic. I will never forget that for the rest of my life."

About 100 hard-core fans live out their commitment by helping to assemble the projects. Iris Sandkuhler, an artist from San Francisco, has worked on seven Christo installations to date. "I did my first one as a teenager, and now I am in my 40's," Ms. Sandkuhler said. "In 1978, an art instructor in North Carolina piled us into a van and said you have to do this," she said, describing her initiation, a modest Christo project involving the wrapping of some streets in Kansas City.

The commitment is not without its physical challenges. "Working in water in the Biscayne Bay," she said, "we had to lace the panels together, and there was nothing to stand on, so we were in the water floundering around."

"But the hardest one for me," Ms. Sandkuhler mused, "was when I worked for them in Paris, and I was sleeping on a couch in the office right next to the bathroom."

[Christiern]

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are an intriguing couple. If you haven't already surmised that, I suggest a visit to their site, which leaves no detail untold. There is also a special section about the Central Park "Gates" project.

Here's another photo I took from my window yesterday. These photos are like the Christmas tree that has yet to be decorated...

Edited February 9, 2005 by Christiern

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Thanks for posting and continuing to do so!

I saw the Pont Neuf installation when he covered it back in '84 maybe. Still have a little piece of it stashed away.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Thanks for posting and continuing to do so!

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Christo and Jeanne-Claude are an intriguing couple. If you haven't already surmised that, I suggest a visit to their site, which leaves no detail untold.

Wonderful...Christo is so free, free, FREE!! Another example of how anyone can find their own little niche in a western democracy. (course he had to flee his communist home country first...but that's another story for another time)

I'll be interested to see when he gets the go ahead to wrap a cluster of temples in Burma or the city of Wuhan in China.

[BFrank]

Thanks for the preview shots, Chris!

[ejp626]

I do want to apologize for implying that art lovers are lemmings. I was in a terrible mood and the puffery in the Travel Arts Syndicate "news piece" irritated me. I can believe that 2 million people might see The Gates, but most of them will be locals. The NY Times piece with its guestimate that 200K people would travel to NY to see the piece is much more reasonable. As it happens, I am coming to NY this weekend, for completely different reasons, and I will go ahead and try to see the Gates myself.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

I see he's already gotten to this ridge back:

Must be Weizen's:

[BFrank]

Chris - More pix, please! B-)

[Christiern]

The unfurling begins....took this one at 9:15 this morning...

[Noj]

Orange was an odd choice--it sort of says, "construction zone."

Christo's stuff is fun, so I'm not knocking him. I thought the umbrellas and island wrapping were cool. I'm sure these orange gates will provide a similar effect, an altering of the landscape which creates a surreal appearance.

[Jazzmoose]

(course he had to flee his communist home country first...but that's another story for another time)

Any chance of convincing him to go back? -_-

[Christiern]

Now that they are up, my first thought is one of disappointment. You are absolutely right, Noj, orange was a very poor choice--it really does look like a big road construction job, Christo's sketches were far more interesting, they had a more yellow color and sun-like glow to them.

Well, perhaps it will look more interesting when I go down and walk through these gates. In the meantime, here's a photo I just took--again from my windows.

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

Jesus! ....no central air in that place of yours, Chris? How long does it take for you to lower the water bucket down into the well and hoist 'er back up?

[Soul Stream]

Yes Chris, the sketches looked very interesting. The shots from your window look like a construction project in Central Park.

Edited February 12, 2005 by Soul Stream

[Christiern]

Jesus! ....no central air in that place of yours, Chris? How long does it take for you to lower the water bucket down into the well and hoist 'er back up?

I have no idea how long that takes, Weizen. I'll ask my scullery maid, and get back to you.

[BFrank]

I'm guessing from your photos that you're on CPW in the 90's. Am I close?

[brownie]

I still have to be convinced this is some kind of a masterpiece.

There was a short interview on French TV this evening of Christo and Jeanne-Claude after the orange drapes were unfolded. The journalist was asking about the meaning of all this to which Jeanne-Claude replied there was no meaning to it the same way that a sonata by Mozart had no meaning either.

Christo tried to intervene but was abruptly cut off by Jeanne-Claude!

I'ld rather listen to Mozart!

In any case, thanks Christern for providing this front row view!

[Christiern]

This may be a better view, turning my camera northward (close, BFrank, I'm at 104th). Tomorrow I'll get some closeups. Jeanne-Claude made much of the fact that the cloth (woven for this project in Germany) changes colors in the sunlight and in rain--we'll see, I hope so.

[Christiern]

And one last one for today...

BYW I see a steady stream of people walking through the gates--far more raffic than usual, especially in cold weather...

[Noj]

Brownie, I don't think there is much "convincing" to be accomplished here. It's a non-objective sculpture that appropriates the environment. I prefer representational sculpture, but sculpture has expanded its vocabulary considerably since the Old Masters. Christo's bag, fwiw, is original. Maybe someone else could expand on the deeper meaning, but I got the impression Christo is merely playing with the environment to change it in some fun way.

There is a documentary about the project Christo did in Northern California that is entertaining. Christo and his wife had to jump through all sorts of hoops to get all the landowners to agree, and the documentary featured many interviews with residents on their opinions of what Christo was doing. Some were very negative, and they expressed displeasure with these usurper artsy fartsy city folk. Christo employed residents to build the project, which changed opinions some. He also interacted with them during his stay and was friendly toward them, eventually winning many over.

Christo's design in Northern California was a tall, fence-like, white canvas object supported by posts that ran for miles perpendicular to the shore before disappearing into the ocean. Caught in the sun and reflecting colors, I thought it was cool--and once the project was complete many residents agreed.

Edited February 12, 2005 by Noj

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

I was draining some red wine around the outdoor fireplace last night with a few neighbors and one Christo infatuated couple said they were going to Volvo it on up there bright & early this morning to check it out. I'll be interested to hear what they have to say next Fri. nite after a couple of glasses of Zinfandel. I asked her why Christo and the wife don't fly around together (unusual for those with grown children, yes?)..and she went on about the need for a (hypothetical) 'survivor' to carry on the legacy, etc. I dunno.