The Gates Are Open

Seeing “The Gates” is experiential proof that our bureaucratic and political systems can be directed to bring forth delight. The choice is ours.

Christo said years ago at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago that he considers the political and bureaucratic navigation his projects require to be part of the art. I remember that he was especially interested in this aspect of the work: using his brief, inspired follies as a mechanism to place on display the Byzantine functioning of our civic structures. "The Gates" was first proposed to the City of New York in 1979.

As I walked through the park on the installation’s opening day, nearly 30 years later, the communal sense of possibility was palpable and a thrill to share with untold thousands.

What’s more, “The Gates” verifies the cost effectiveness of funding and pursuing delight. The project, which Christo and Jeanne-Claude financed privately, cost around $21 million. Mayor Bloomberg says the city expects the 16 day installation to yield an infusion of $80 million in tourism and other spending, according to the NYTimes. Zero investment with an $80 million return is serious art-as-urban-renewal.

In recent days, I’ve been queried often as to what I most like about it. My response: “That it exists.”

At one point while walking through “The Gates,” I came upon a pathway I’ve walked dozens, maybe even hundreds, of times. Striding beneath the billowing saffron banners, the walk along this gently sloping rise - as it curves around an outcropping of the very schist upon which New York bustles - was newly enchanting.

Christo’s installation removes familiarity from well worn experience allowing for fresh perception. Long after the gates have been removed and recycled, that gently sloping walkway will retain its added element of enchantment - an enchantment that comes from it existing at all.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s gift to us is a heightened appreciation for that which we already have.