November 23, 2004
Christo 'Gates' Arriving in Central Park Next
Week
By CAROL VOGEL
The
artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude's installation of 7,500
gates in Central Park will begin next week, it was announced
yesterday.
"The Gates," as they are called, will be festooned with saffron-colored
fabric panels and will line 23 miles of pedestrian paths from
Feb. 12 to 27. They are being made in Queens and are nearly
finished. The artists say they have been working on the project
for 20 years.
Details of the installation were announced at a news conference
by Deputy Mayor Patricia E. Harris; Parks and Recreation Commissioner
Adrian Benepe; Cultural Affairs Commissioner Kate D. Levin;
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein; and Cristyne L. Nicholas,
the chief executive of NYC & Company, the city's tourism marketing
group. Materials, including the 15,000 steel bases needed
to support "The Gates," will begin arriving in the park on
Dec. 1.
While they are on view, the Central Park Conservancy will
set up what officials there call warming huts throughout Central
Park. They will also offer information on the project and
sell souvenirs like posters, postcards, T-shirts and maps
to support Nurture New York's Nature Inc., a nonprofit organization
for the arts and the environment. For 18 months organizing
the installation has been like pulling together "a military
operation,'' Mr. Benepe said.
In addition to the logistics of the installation itself, there
is the issue of providing proper security while the park has
tourists from around the world. Yesterday Mr. Benepe said
additional security would be provided by the Parks Department
along with private security provided by the artists.
Guided trolley and walking tours will be offered, and the
Metropolitan Museum will open its roof to visitors for the
first time during the winter.
For schoolchildren, the New York City Department of Education
has created an instructional guide that is being distributed
through the city school system.
" 'The Gates' are for everyone,'' Deputy Mayor Harris said.
"Public art is wonderful, surprising, amusing and sometimes
confusing. The Christos do not accept sponsorship. The city
will bear no expense.
''The artists have historically paid for all their public
art projects, which over the years included wrapping the Reichstag
in Berlin with more than a million square feet of aluminum-colored
fabric and swathing the Pont Neuf in Paris with champagne-colored
textile, through the sale of their artworks. They estimate
"The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979-2005'' will
cost about $20 million.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company
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