the_gates_central_park_ny_1979_2005 crOwl on february 12, 7,500 gates will frame the pathways of central park for sixteen days. each gate is sixteen feet high, secured to a heavy metal base and trailing a swath of bright safron-colored fabric, all of which, together in the wind, will create a shimmering river of color. the art exhibit is the creation of christos and his collaborator wife jeanne claude. birthed in 1979, the project took 26 years to persuade and convince new york city officials to let this enormously ambitious, logistically staggering, and by the artists' own admission-gleefully pointless project come to life. the gates, which is being financed entirely by the christos, with not a penny from grants, city money, or donations, is budgeted at $20 million-which translates to a lot of collages, drawings, sketches, and models, because that's how christos gets his money. he sells his art. 8x11 sketches sell for $30,000. 4'x8' drawings go for $600,000. so every morning christos climbs up to the fifth floor of a converted factory just north of canal street and sketches furiously. he survives on garlic, yogurt, and soy milk, which takes about three minutes and then he goes back to work. this ingenious, self-sustaining apparatus-by which the sketches serve as a kind of de facto bond issue to pay for the final work-not only allows the christos to maintain their autonomy but also insulates them from the most obvious criticism: how much will this cost us? to which they answer, nothing at all. this attitude may partly explain the enthusiasm of their most powerful booster, the mayor of new york, micheal bloomberg, who is also an ardent advocate of public art in general. for more information and to see other public displays of the christos art work: new york magazine(jan.24-31,'05) www.chistojeanneclaude.net 050207 ... . www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.html 050207 ... bijou I saw an interview with the two of them on the brooklyn_community_access_television channel. strange pair, but just as one would imagine them I suppose. I think its a nice idea to insist that the financial and physical should not be limitations to put on art. 050207 ... ever dumbening: n.y. bound speaking of gifts, kevin, your post has—in the mere span of 24 hours—set off a cascade in my mind and spirit that has made me decide to go to see this. i will most likely be in n.y. from the 18th thru the 23rd, give or take. if any blatherskites live in manhattan (or environs) and would be willing to host for a night or two, that would be most excellent. i want to make hostel resevations sooner rather than later, so if there are any couch surfing possibilities, let me know now. paste! can attest to the fact that i am a willing and gracious host, thereby opening up the possibility of future reciprocation. a word on the thought process that got me to this state. i had, in the back of my foggy brain, heard that christo had a new work coming. then last night i saw this blathe and checked out the sight. the sketches completely captivated. and the idea. i dragged the link onto my navigation bar, thinking that it would be fun to get updates later once things were installed. this morning i tooled around on the site once more, and the tide turned. i was looking at the photos of the running fence piece done in the mid-70's, a few mere miles from here. i had certainly seen photos of it in the past (and of the umbrellas down on the grapevine), but all of the steps and breaths that brought me to today had me looking differently. i love the hills and sea and sky around here. i walk among them often. i was looking at those pictures today, and i was struck by how amazing this eighteen-foot-tall wall of white fabric must have looking stretching out for miles and miles. i thought that i will never get to see that. it won't be done again. too, christo is aging. who knows how many more works he will execute? to see the condensation of over 25 years of planning is a rare treat. so what? so there are going to be a bunch of metal things with orange fabric, whatever. no. not for me. not where i am now. this is what it's all about. these are the defining moments, where we meet ourselves. "passion grace and fire", so to speak. i will be there. thanks, kevin. [side note: i intend to write you an email when i get a chance, on things related and not so. i think you know. it could take some time though; you know how i work.] 050207 ... crOwl excitng news, james! i love your spirit of adventure. a note to all skites in the nyc area: ever dumbening is a generous, kind, artistic, and intelligent young man. share your home with him and you will gain a friend. 050208 ... ever dumbening pressure is off, skites. i've got a place to stay for the week. but it would be fun to have a skite or two play tour guide. i'll be staying on 121st at lenox. so if you're nearby or want to meet up, drop me an email. i'll be there from the 16th to the 23rd. ink it!! i bought a big new sketch book and one orange (read: saffron) sennelier oil pastel. 050208 ... bijou 121st and Lenox, thats right in the mix in Harlem, I hope you're staying with a friend... I go to school not too far from there in West Harlem. I live in Brooklyn, a bit of a hike. Not sure what I will be up to, send me an email if you like... 050209 ... unhinged funny that last friday i was talking to her on the phone and she was telling me about this very thing because it was on 20/20 or one of those news shows..... probably right at the exact second you were standing in the middle of it, or approximately close enough. blather_synchronicity gets me every time. i would like to go to new york sometime in the near future to go to moma. i found out that moma houses one of my most favorite paintings ever - van gogh's 'starry night' and i would love to see it in person. a lithograph isn't so good with the brush strokes. i remember the first time i saw a monet in person and knew what it was - yes, i would like to go to moma in nyc sometime. but i'm not so adventurous. 050223 ... crOwl hey james, what are your impressions of the gates? 050225 ... bijou I went home to kansas city last weekend. when I came back to new york, it had just been snowing all night and we were making the descent and it was cloudy, you couldn't see anything on the ground. I was watching out the window. when we passed over central park there was a break in the clouds and we were close to the ground and i could see the park and the lakes and the gates. looked like an olympic ski slope. 050306 ... mon uow i wonder what the fabric sounds/sounded like...if it could be heard. 050307 ... Fido If you want to know, just go stand in front of the flagpost at your school on a windy day. It sounds like "slap slap slap." Except this one costs 23 million dollars. 050307 ... mon uow my school? my school is the world. all kinds of fabric can make different sounds, in different winds. i once spent a couple months experimenting with cloth and wind. this project reminds me of my experiments/experiences/ideas. 050307 ... TPS (The Pubic Strangler) i want to strangle you (mon uow) with a rope made from my own pubic hair... have a nice day. 050307 ... ? why 050307 ... people are strange when youre a strangler i think it would take a lot of hair to make a rope. a thread sounds more likely, unless you save up a bunch of hair first or mix it with another fibre. all of which sounds rather strange to me. 050307 ... mon uow also, different sounds can occur depending on how a piece of fabric is held/hung. i like the colour of the fabric. 050307 ... ever dumbening http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/ saddened by the loss of half of the team. 091128 ... cr0wl the story behind the story 091128 ... ever dumbening thank you christo. your impact on my life is significant. 200602 ... epitome of incomprehensibility About Christo: I remember seeing the pink-wrapped islands in art history class. I'm sorry to hear he died. I liked this article - https://www.vulture.com/article/christo-artist-obituary.html - although it throws a ton of adjectives and abstract nouns at the poor man...maybe to imitate his penchant for swathing landmarks in colourful material? I'm silly. But anyway it has a picture of the pink "Surrounded Islands." 200604 what's it to you? who go blather from