THE GATES

Christo and Jeanne-Claude
Free Fabric Sample from The Gates
ed. of 1 Million
7 cm x 7 cm
2005
©2005 Christo and Jeanne-Claude

I recently watched "The Gates," an HBO documentary about Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artwork of the same name. The piece was famously installed throughout Central Park in the winter of 2005 after more than 25 years of negotiations between the artists and various detractors. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the film, especially the latter part, which captures the joyous reactions of bewildered park visitors. Further proof that a little a cadmium orange goes a long, long way...

The late Jeanne-Claude comes off as a particularly interesting character throughout the movie. Her unflinching and shrewd business sensibility is a strange - and perfect, I guess - counterpart to the romantic nonchalance of Christo. In spite of the duo's insistence against the unauthorized sale of any detritus associated with "The Gates," I am very interested in acquiring one of the million fabric samples pictured above. If someone wants to send one my way, I swear I wouldn't tell a soul...