Twenty-six years is a long time to wait to complete a project. But that's just what artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have done with The Gates.
Set to open officially Feb. 12 in New York's Central Park, The Gates is a monumental undertaking that will display 7,500 saffron-colored flags hanging from 16-foot-high gates set along 23 miles of the park's footpaths. The aesthetic effect is intended to be like a golden river suspended in the air, ebbing and flowing with the wind.
Originally planned in 1979, The Gates has existed only on paper until now, as Christo and Jeanne-Claude had never been able to get the required permits to stage the project. Only upon New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's election in 2001 did the bureaucratic resistance disappear.
And while the two artists are no strangers to lengthy waits for the realization of their work -- their Wrapped Trees in Riehen, Switzerland, took 32 years, and Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin took 25 years -- Christo and Jeanne-Claude are nonetheless ecstatic to finally be able to unveil The Gates.
"I guess when Christo and I will be walking on the walkways under The Gates, we will feel exactly like a woman feels when the doctor says, 'It's a girl,'" said Jeanne-Claude. "We will feel, 'It's The Gates.'"
For decades, Christo and Jeanne-Claude -- who are equal collaborators on all their projects -- have been famous for creating one monumental work after another. They're most famous for their series of wrapped objects such as Paris' Pont Neuf and Berlin's Reichstag. But they've also completed works such as Running Fence, 24.5 miles of white fabric fence stretched throughout California's Sonoma and Marin counties in 1976, and 1991's The Umbrellas, which consisted of 3,100 large umbrellas spread out simultaneously across 12 miles in Japan and 18 miles in California.
The Gates involves 7,500 gates, which are spread out at 12-foot intervals -- except when there is a tree in the way -- and from which the saffron fabric will hang down to about seven feet above the ground.
The project -- which incorporates 65 miles of recyclable saffron vinyl, 15,000 615-to-837-pound steel base footings, 5,290 tons of steel, 60 miles of vinyl tubing and 116,000 miles of nylon thread -- is expected to cost in excess of $20 million. And as with all of their projects, Christo and Jeanne-Claude are footing the entire bill, largely through the sale of studies, drawings, collages and scale models of the project.
It will be removed after 16 days.
In many ways, The Gates is most notable for existing at all, given the troubles Christo and Jeanne-Claude had convincing the city of New York and Central Park authorities to give them the thumbs up.
But Bloomberg's election changed all that, especially after the artists were willing to bend on some of the project's particulars.
"New York City has a rich history of public art and I cannot think of a better canvas than Central Park," Bloomberg told Wired News. "Today's plan for The Gates is significantly different from when it was first proposed, and respects the park's environment. The Gates will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will attract visitors from around the globe."
According to Megan Sheekey, a spokeswoman for the city of New York, the permit for The Gates was granted in part because the engineer figured out a way to install the gates without putting holes in the ground, as was originally proposed.
Further, Christo and Jeanne-Claude were willing to abandon their plan for holding the event during the fall when they felt colors of the leaves in the park would contrast wonderfully with the saffron flags. Some worried that there would be too many visitors in the fall and that the park would suffer.
In any case, the 1979 plan was called The Thousand Gates and called for 12-foot tall poles, and looked "like a very nice shower curtain," said Jeanne-Claude.
Now, having waited so many years to bring The Gates to fruition, the artists admit to having a little trouble accepting that the project's time has come.
"It's hard for Christo and I to believe fully 100 percent that it's truly, really happening," said Jeanne-Claude. "It is better (though). Time is always on the side of the artist. We were not mature enough, and we have matured, and the project has matured with us."
Meanwhile, as more than 600 paid employees prepare the project for its official opening, people who live in and visit New York are getting excited.
"It's amazing," said Lori Indelicato, a city resident and a frequenter of Central Park. "It's so strange to see these bright orange stark structures.... If you can see a stretch of them, where they've got 20 of them up, you can see the curve of the park as the progression of the gates goes. As the land goes up and down, you can see the contour of the park."
Naturally, however, The Gates is stirring up a fair bit of criticism. Many people can't believe that the artists are covering all the costs, while others feel Central Park shouldn't be exploited. But as demonstrated by blogs about the project and by the sentiments of New Yorkers, the pessimists are outnumbered.
"There's a buzz about the park," said Indelicato. "I think it's going to be really sad when they come down. I'm already sad about it, and they're not even (finished) yet."
