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This afternoon, we strolled through Central Park to see the installation artwork The Gates, by the husband/wife team Christo and Jeanne-Claude. We took a bunch of photos – hope you like them. It really is an amazing piece of artwork – as are their previous pieces of art. I had the chance to meet the duo while at school. They came as guest lecturers and were very generous with their time afterwards.

I know of people who have had an adverse reaction to this type of “art.” It’s easy to understand why. Nobody likes change. Most people like their art to be behind glass. In a wooden frame. On a wall. In a fancy museum. This can’t possibly be art. I can touch it. I can walk inside of it. It’s too big. It’s too… orange.

Personally, I think it’s brilliant.
“Brilliant? Are you nuts?!”
One needs to look at contemporary art much differently than classical art. The rules are the same, but taking the time the art is produced into account is critical to gaining a better appreciation for art. Art needs to challenge you. I’ll say that again. Art needs to challenge you. Challenge the way you look at art. Your world. Your life. Contemporary fine artists need to understand this if they want to achieve any level of real success/recognition. Keeping the level of art at the status quo – learning to paint like Rembrandt, to sculpt like Degas, to draw like DaVinci – doesn’t advance the art world. Doesn’t challenge the thinking of modern people in 2005.

Does The Gates do this? I answered this question to myself a hearty “YES!” while still a block away from Central Park today. How many people do you think are normally taking leisurely walks through Central Park on a Sunday afternoon in February – in 40 degree, overcast weather? Some, but not many people. A block away from the park, the sidewalks were jammed with hundreds and hundreds of people. It didn’t get any better once actually inside the walls of Central Park. Walking from The Met to the Great Lawn was at times elbow-to-elbow. Almost everyone was wearing the same jewelry around their necks – a camera. Hats, scarves, mittens, sunglasses and a smile. The Gates has drawn people out of their apartments, their businesses, their homes into the park to experience something they have never – nor will ever again experience. Why? Why bother? It’s just the same old park, isn’t it? Same trees. Same trash cans. Same homeless man. The park that they look at, that they bike through, that they jog through, that they drive through every single day of the week is suddenly something completely new – different. The Gates has made it a new creation and people want to see it.

The brilliance – to me – in Christo’s art is his ability to take something ordinary, something that we might be taking for granted, and reinvent it. Central Park is a completely different place with these Gates up. It looks different. It smells different. It tastes different. People are flocking to see something different.

Like any artist, I’m sure Christo feels like he could have done something different. Improved something. But, I have no doubt that he is happy with the result. How could he not be? He has shocked NYC into seeing that big Central Park in a whole new way.

Have you seen The Gates in Central Park? What was your reaction?