2. The Gates

The Gates, an installation for New York Central Park that began in 1979 and was completed in February 2005, was created by Christo and Jeanne-Claude. A total of 7503 saffron coloured fabric gates were placed in the park, seeming like “a golden river appearing and disappearing through the bare branches of the trees”.  (Christo, 2015) When asked what inspired the pair, aside from the basic aesthetic beauty, they said their “attention turned toward the vast flow of people walking through the streets”. (Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 2007) In the simplicity of their ode to a city they loved and the people within it, the beauty of their work can be appreciated up close or from a far. This has shown me how a site specific piece of work needn’t be grand in design or meaning to be appreciated. I really love the way they transform a space using just material, and hope that I will be able to take one of the places up Steep Hill and bring the space alive as they do.

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(Inkeri, 1979, cited in christoandjeanneclaude.net, undated)

Christo. (2015) The Gates. [online] Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Available from: http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/projects/the-gates#.VMopb2isUb2 [Accessed 29 January 2015].

Christo and Jeanne-Claude. (2007) Christo and Jeanne-Claude in Their Own Words. [online] New York: New York City. Available from: http://www.nyc.gov/html/thegates/html/qanda.html [Accessed 29 January 2015].

Inkeri, E. (1979) The Thousand Gates (Project). [online] Christo and Jeanne-Claude. Available from http://christojeanneclaude.net/projects/the-gates#.VMorimisUb0 [Accessed 29 January 2015].

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