“Let them eat gates”

                                                                    Cristo and Jeanne Claude

                                                      And the Battle for the Gates of NewYork

Cristo and Jeanne Claude are controversial artists and have been so for nearly half a century. This is an impressive feat in itself. To stir controversy an artist must have his finger on the pulse of the culture, they must stay in tune with the zeitgeist. This constantly changing spirit might be hard for some to follow, however Cristo and Jeanne Claude are experts in changing perspectives. This is the running theme throughout almost all of their work. A reimagining of the world around us, a world that can seem immutable. Few places can seem as immutably permanent as the solid stone city of New York.  This might help to explain the reticence to the idea of giving central park a twenty million dollar temporary face lift. It might also point to the need for such a shift.

walking through the gates one sees central park framed in a thousand different ways. with the wind blows the gates form a covered walkway redefine indoor, outdoor space. It took nearly thirty years in total to bring the project to fruition. it also took a new mayor, and arguably the worst single terrorist attack on record.