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February 21, 2005

190: The Gates: But is it art?

"The Gates" -- been there, done that.

The park was overloaded with people who braved the arctic weather this weekend just to fulfill their "I guess I should see this" obligations to art. Or whatever it is.

Thankfully, Christo doesn't seem inclined to attribute any sort of ridiculous meaning to "The Gates." It's just for your viewing pleasure, and has nothing to do with any of the following:

a) a vague but highly limited opinion on war
b) some social issue the artist once read about
c) the artist's unresolved and slightly imaginary issues with his or her mother
d) the artist's need for attention

Phew!

So what's it about? Nothing! Beautiful, right? Yes!

Admittedly, I went into it with a Bad Attitude (surprised?) but aside from nearly dying in the cold, I left feeling positively about "The Gates." I can't say I loved it or that I felt anything looking at it, but it was strange and impressive, and maybe that's enough.

From all of the photos I'd seen of it, I thought I knew what to expect but photos don't accurately capture the weirdness of the situation -- how people inexplicably make glamour shots in front of them, or how oddly they're spaced apart. They don't seem to go in any logical order, not that the park does either, but it's as if the Gates go on for a while and then just stop. And then they start again, in a tiny clump, and stop again.

I could say unfair things about the idiotic things I overheard people saying, or how often people mentioned the Reichstag when it's likely they don't even know what the Reichstag is. I could, but I won't. People say stupid things all the time, and especially when they're on awkward dates and having to confront art they think they should understand. The thing is, there's nothing to understand, so just be quiet, look at it, and better your chances of getting a second date.

My date(s) for the trip to the park were Pete, Pete's Mom, my Mom, and my Dad. We admired our beautiful apartment, ate brunch, looked at the "art," nearly died in the cold, and then returned home to recover. During all of this, Pete and I became sick -- so sick that rather than partying, we had to stay in Saturday night and like stuffy-nosed, mouth-breathing zombies and watch Taxi Driver, which was, ultimately, way more inspiring than Christo.

Travis Bickle <3

Posted by ashley at February 21, 2005 01:16 PM

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