20 June 2016

Christo and Jeanne-Claude at The Gates in Central Park

Jeanne-Claude and Christo, 2005.

Christo has a new installation, his first in about a decade. So I though I would share some images from The Gates, the delightful deployment of orange fabric-and steel-portals throughout New York's Central Park, installed in February, 2005.   My snapshots of Christo, and his late wife and collaborator Jeanne-Claude, were taken when we fortuitously glimpsed them during our visit; not the greatest photos, but the images do capture Jeanne-Claude's wonderful saffron hair, perhaps the inspiration for the color of the portals.

A phalanx of 7,532 gates marches through Central Park.

Although my aging feet might disagree, I believe walking is the most enjoyable form of locomotion and this installation celebrated the pathways of Central Park.

The metal stanchions widened to accommodate the walkway width.

Louisa May Alcott, born in November, called that month "the most disagreeable month in the whole year" (Little Women, Chap. XV), but February comes a close second in my view.  The billowing orange fabric, like fluttering sunshine, seemed to bolster and amplify the weak winter light.

The curtains create a proscenium for pedestrians.

Visitors of all ages.

Reflection on water near the pond.

Trail of orange visible through the branches.

Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.