The Gates was a site-specific work of art by Bulgarian artist Christo Yavacheff and French artist Jeanne-Claude, known jointly as Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The artists installed 7,503 steel "gates" along of pathways in Central Park in New York City. From each gate hung a panel of deep saffron-colored nylon fabric. The exhibit ran from February 12 through February 27, 2005.

In the books and other memorabilia distributed by the artists, the project is called The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979–2005, alluding to the time that passed between the artists' initial proposal and its installation.

The Gates was greeted with mixed reactions. Some people loved the work for brightening the bleak winter landscape and encouraging late-night pedestrian traffic in Central Park; others hated it, accusing the artists of defacing the landscape. It was seen as an obstruction to bicyclists, who felt that the gates could cause accidents, although cycling was not legal on those paths. The artists received a great deal of their nationwide fame as a frequent object of ridicule by David Letterman (television talk-show host), as well as by Keith Olbermann (television journalist), whose apartment was nearby.

Fabrication

Construction and cost

According to the artists, the work used 5,390 tons of steel, 315,491 feet (96 km) of vinyl tubing, 99,155 square metres of fabric, and 15,000 sets of brackets and hardware. The textile was produced and sewn in Germany. The gates were assembled in a 25,000-square-foot (2,300 m²) Long Island facility, then trucked to Central Park. The steel was machined at the Charles C. Lewis Steel Company in Springfield, MA.

As one of the conditions for use of the park space, the steel bases rested upon the walkways, but were unattached to them, so that no holes were drilled and no permanent changes were made to the park.

The artists sold pieces of their own artwork, including preparatory drawings for The Gates, to finance the project.

The artists said the project cost of $21 million. But Greg Allen and The New York Times attempted to itemize the costs and could account for about $5–10 million, given reasonable estimates for parts, labor, and costs related to the staffing of the installation. Christo and Jeanne-Claude also visited the installation on the last day, entering Central Park at its less congested northern end. Although the Park's roadways were closed to vehicles, they traveled with a police escort in their Maybach sedan. Christo then left the car and walked to several vantage points, capturing last minute photographs with a professional assistant. After the exhibition closed on February 27, the gates and bases were removed. The materials were industrially recycled, partially as scrap metal.

A 2007 documentary film's synopsis by the video's promoters, Kino Lorber, contend this artwork "brought over 4 million visitors from around the world to Central Park."

Albert Maysles's HBO movie The Gates, about the installation, aired February 26, 2008, won a Peabody Award that same year.

The science fiction movie Marjorie Prime features a fragmented memory from the female lead, Marjorie, about her experience of sitting on a park bench during this installation.

Inspirations

The Gates alludes to the tradition of Japanese torii gates, traditionally constructed at the entrance to Shinto shrines. Thousands of vermilion-colored torii line the paths of the Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Successful Japanese businessmen traditionally purchased a gate in gratitude to Inari, the god of worldly prosperity.

<gallery widths="180" heights="180" mode="packed" style="line-height:130%">

File:FushimiInariTorii.jpg|Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

File:Torii path with lantern at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kyoto, Japan.jpg|Thousands of torii gates line the paths of the celebrated Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan

</gallery>

<gallery widths="180" heights="180" mode="packed" style="line-height:130%">

File:ChristoGates.JPG|Facing northeast from Belvedere Castle

File:Gates f.jpg|Facing east

File:The Gates from The Met 2007-02-18.jpg|From the roof of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

File:Gates b.jpg|Facing southwest

File:Aerial photo of Central Park.jpg|Aerial view of Central Park

File:ザ・ゲーツ（空撮）.jpg|Aerial view of the Great Lawn

</gallery>

References

Notes

Other sources<!--to convert to inline-->

  • Stephen Colbert describes The Gates
  • Cave Paintings and Christo's Gates: Art in Individual Minds and Public Places
  • Christo and Jeanne-Claude, The Gates: Central Park, New York City, 1979–2005, : for pictures of the manufacturing process, early meetings with city officials, pictures of the completed project, design drawings, etc.
  • Christo and Jeanne-Claude, : for pictures and commentary about earlier projects.
  • The Gates on the Christo and Jeanne Claude website
  • [http://vinestreetworks.com] 8-minute film for download: A Walk Through the Gates
  • The Gates Photo Gallery
  • In Pictures: The Gates – Extrageographic Magazine
  • The Gates, Film by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Antonio Ferrera, Matthew Prinzing, 2007, 87 min