Question for New Yorkers

Folks are trying to get me to join them for a trip down to the Big Apple to see Christo's Gates this coming weekend.  I'm somewhat indifferent.  Worth it, or no? 

Comments

[matt]

i'm going to make the trip up from virginia. i'm not gonna miss it.

[julie]

you should go, it will be fabulous! :)

My wife wants to go. We may just do that. Hey, it's an excuse to travel. Even if it's a bust, what's the worse that can come of it?

[(Way) Over the Line]

Check with Pinky - she went to see it last weekend.

[gretchen]

I saw it yesterday. It was a great experience. There were thousands of people walking in Central Park, really taking time to look at the paths and the great lawn and the views from different points. The gates are perhaps uninteresting on their own, or seen head-on, but turn even a bit and you'll see the view from the reservoir up to the upper east side in a whole new light, or the skyscrapers of midtown above the great lawn, or even the simplicity of the trees across the lake. It's fascinating to eavesdrop on conversations and to be a part of this enormous crowd of people, most of whom are really noticing and seeing the park in a new way. The gates look very different at different angles, or when the sun catches them in a new way, or when the wind blows. I think that the gates are a tool to help us immerse ourselves more deeply in the park. It's one of those exhibits where the whole is much greater than the sum of its parts.

[neil]

Its truly amazing...and i am sceptical about anything christo...it is worth a trip from anywhere...

[DJS]

My wife and I went yesterday. It's wonderful and unlike anything else you're likely to ever see. My post about it is here.

[Baby Lawyer]

yes, it's worth the trip! This is a total about-face of my original position, which was that there were enough pictures of the Gates (EVERY DAY in the NYTimes. Every day.) floating around that I didn't need to venture on up there. However, I ended up in NYC yesterday and, in an "oh, I might as well" kind of way, wandered over to the W. 71st (70th?) Street entrance, and got so enraptured that I ended up walking for nearly an hour. I think the point of the Gates (for me, anyway) is not how it looks, or what it's made of, it's the feeling you get walking through these miles of what could be construction signs, basically. Somehow, it's this very happy experience that made me feel ... connected, is the best word I can find right now. I'm not very knowledgeable about art, but I think the best thing art can do is fill you up with joy, and that's what walking through the Gates did for me. The pictures may show you what it looks like, but that's barely even half the story.