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Chris A - 2005-02-28 15:11:58
I took my kids to the gates on Saturday. I liked it less than I thought I would, but the kids loved it, so now I may have to deal with my children wanting to become conceptual artist (Lets hope they sell out before they want flame red hair). I especially liked running in Prospect park later in the same day; the contrast made it feel even less upitty then its manhattan sibling.
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Paula - 2005-02-28 15:17:25
I love Prospect Park...Do you come all the way over from Bklyn Hts to run there?
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Chris A - 2005-02-28 15:42:26
I run from the heights; I am hoping to do the Brooklyn half marathon coming up. Nice route. The park is great in the summer, especially the drummers near the Southern corner. Nothing like running through a cloud of pot to keep you lite headed.
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Baby Party - 2005-02-28 17:12:37
I also wished that I had made it to the Gates early in the morning, sans crowds. At first I was thinking, "isn't it great to be out here with all my fellow New Yorkers, enjoying this unusual spectacle!" An hour later, I was thinking, "I wish all these assholes would get the fuck out of my way." So in that sense, it was a typical New York experience. I did like the way the Gates drew my eye in a different direction over the landscape; but I think Mr. Baby Party liked it more than me. I hated the Cows on Parade.
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Flasshe - 2005-02-28 18:59:24
Will the Gates go on tour to other cities? Cuz there's certainly some parks around here that could use that sort of thing.
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Paula - 2005-02-28 19:12:39
Nah. Christo and Jeanne-Claude are fixin' to do something to the Charles River next.
Baby Party, how come you didn't like the cows? Is it cows in general you don't like, or just when they're on parade?
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Baby Party - 2005-03-01 10:36:22
I like cows. But I thought, as public art, is was just kinda cutesy, and not very interesting.
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Paula - 2005-03-01 10:56:34
I know whatcha mean about cutesy. I liked the cows cuz I like when several people are called upon to express their vision within one format. To see the same object, but with a slightly different spin, is more interesting to me than seeing one person/couple's vision played out at a great expanse, or at least it seems more in line with the idea of "public art." And the fact that it's likely to appeal to kids, too, makes it a little more like a community-builder.
At any rate, I enjoyed both the Cows and the Gates, but just wish I had experienced the Gates differently.
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Baby Party - 2005-03-01 11:41:20
"Several" people might be nice, but the Cows represented hundreds of artists. For me, this approach often translates into boring, dumbed-down, lowest-common denominator art. I personally would rather see public art that is challenging, even difficult. But I realize this is a very controversial issue. I think when art is expected to bear a dual burden of being both good and community-building, or democratic (not to mention kid-friendly), it usually suffers aesthetically. (The Christos avoid a lot of controversy over public funding by paying for their own installations, which they finance through the sale of books, posters, etc. The city only had to pay, I believe, for the park maintenance.)
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Paula - 2005-03-04 21:52:32
What did you find challenging about the Gates?
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