Sunday in the Park with Wales

Today my friend, Wales, and I made the forty-five minute subway trek from Brooklyn to Central Park to see the Gates. Meandering our way through the city and the park and masses of people of all shapes, sizes, creeds, and tongues in the process.

For those who are media deprived, like the video store guy I chatted with on Sat, The Gates is the Christos, more than 20 years in the making, project for New York City. They first proposed it over 20 years ago and were turned down. Tried again with Dinkins, turned down again. In the intervening years - they did other things, such as put up umbrellas in California and wrap the walkways of Loose Park in Kansas City in yellow fabric. Then, two years ago, they got a spot of luck - Bloomberg, a long-time fan of their work got elected Mayor of New York City and immediately approved the project the moment he heard of it. So the Christos' (they are a couple) set about creating their numerous bannered gates around Central Park. Tall orange metal brakets, with saffroon fabric hanging evenly at the same height on each, from the top, spaced about 10 feet from each other - astonishingly similar to banners at The Renaissance Fair or Medieval Event or Dance Festival or from sidewalk lamp posts announcing the approach of a holiday season. The frabric is tough, like burlap, rough. When the wind hits it, it furrows or balloons similar to a kite or sail. Not at all what I expected. And I'd seen pictures of them before hand. ( Read more... )