"The Gates" by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

(To view pictures at full size just click on them.)

If you aren't aware of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's art I hope this post will open your eyes to their amazing work. They are a married couple, both artists, that create fantastic works of art outdoors usually using great big sheets of fabric to literally wrap landscape, buildings, trees, etc. Their art does not compromise the environment in any way or cost the communities they work in any money. They raise all the funds themselves, create jobs for people to help assemble and disassemble their work, and recycle the materials used. And their work is unlike any other artists'.

Next month, Christo and Jeanne-Claude will finally see their long-awaited New York City project, "The Gates", fully realized. Opening on Saturday, February 12th Central Parks gates and walkways will be highlighted with 7,500 saffron-colored panels of fabric. It will twist and wind it's way along the majority of all the paths throughout the park, covering about 23 miles. They began working on this project in 1979. Their original proposal was only one page and the city denied them in a document more than 100 pages long! They have worked on the materials, design, and all other details over these many years. And in what may be one of the only good things Bloomberg has done for this city, he gave them permission in 2003. The work will be up for a total of 16 days and then will be dismantled and recycled.

Mom and Dad and I went to Central Park today to see the preliminary set up. All that can be seen right now are the rectangular bases that the fabric panels will hang from and orange markers. And it's already a work of art. We had that blizzard not too long ago and some light snowfall here and there over the last week. Snow has settled on the bases creating a palate for New Yorkers and tourists in the park. So we along with many others wrote things on the bases with our fingers in the snow. Some were simple ("Katy was here") others were fun ("Scotland forever!") It was really amazing. "The Gates" is already having an affect and it's not even up yet!

Past projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude include "Wrapped Coast" in Little Bay, Sydney, Australia, "Running Fence" in Sonoma and Marin Counties in California, "Surrounded Islands" in Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida (which my Aunt Florrie got to see in person), "The Pont Neuf Wrapped" in Paris, France and many more.

For more info take a look at these sites:

The official site for "The Gates": http://www.the-gates-at-central-park.com/index.php

Christo and Jeanne-Claude's official site: http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/index.html.en

Wolfgang Volz - Christo and Jeanne-Claude's photographer: http://www.wolfgangvolz.com/