2005-02-13
ART WORLD | CHRISTO'S GATES
Vee sent me some photos she took yesterday | Though we managed to get one taken of Bud + Bob after a chance run-in at the Sheridan Square subway entrance, I regret she isn't in any of them | We'd taken a bus trip into the city for the day, being let off in from of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sauntered right into Central Park | Many of the gates had not yet been opened so we were able to see the process | The first picture here is the duck pond near the Plaza | 
I took some liberties with the next picture [Vee calls it "Skyscrapers"] and rendered it into a "painting" using Photoshop |
We only got to see part of the installation, electing to tour other parts of NooYawkCiti the rest of the day | What we saw of it was ~ for us ~ exciting and refreshing |
While the visit and the exhibit was exciting for Bruce and I, it became evident that, for some people, it was just another day in Central Park | People were stepping outside that customary brusqueness we expect from NewYawkers | One very polished and poised woman, as she snapped pictures, giggled excitedly while noting that she finally had a reason for using the camera on her cell phone | I particularly enjoyed watching a policeman intently reading a directional map [that pix will be posted later in the week] and the guy who took his cat out for a stroll in the park | Once we left Central Park, we visited the new CNN-Time-Warner towers on Columbus Circle [was glad to see that the Edward Durell Stone designed Huntington Hartford Building still standing and intact] walked south to Times Square, hopped the New York City Subway to Christopher Street Station and toured Greenwich Village, taking in the West Side Highway, and Richard Meier's new blue glass high rise Charles Street apartments lining the Hudson River's edge by the old Piers | Our return trip uptown was highlighted with a gallery visit, a stop for French pastries in Chelsea, a visit to Grand Central Station and Rockefeller Center [where I did a pastel sketch which I am turning into a real watercolor tonight] Then, finally, the bus trip back home |
Bob + Buddy, Vee and their friend Jay went to see the Gates later in the day | I'm told Buddy was able to get one of the fabric squares they were giving out to visitors | Jay walked briskly through the park, we hear, well ahead of everyone else | And while he casually dismissed the display with "...you've seen one gate, you've seen them all..." once they left Central Park, it made enough of an impression on him that Jay, [who has long lived in New York City] took his guests on an unplanned ride to the borough of Queens | Finally, returning to the Village where they started, the group, including Buddy, came in contact with a gate of another color ~ the subway turnstile | 
PHOTO CREDITS: All photos taken by Vee | © 2005
Vee sent me some photos she took yesterday | Though we managed to get one taken of Bud + Bob after a chance run-in at the Sheridan Square subway entrance, I regret she isn't in any of them | We'd taken a bus trip into the city for the day, being let off in from of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and sauntered right into Central Park | Many of the gates had not yet been opened so we were able to see the process | The first picture here is the duck pond near the Plaza | I took some liberties with the next picture [Vee calls it "Skyscrapers"] and rendered it into a "painting" using Photoshop | We only got to see part of the installation, electing to tour other parts of NooYawkCiti the rest of the day | What we saw of it was ~ for us ~ exciting and refreshing |
While the visit and the exhibit was exciting for Bruce and I, it became evident that, for some people, it was just another day in Central Park | People were stepping outside that customary brusqueness we expect from NewYawkers | One very polished and poised woman, as she snapped pictures, giggled excitedly while noting that she finally had a reason for using the camera on her cell phone | I particularly enjoyed watching a policeman intently reading a directional map [that pix will be posted later in the week] and the guy who took his cat out for a stroll in the park | Once we left Central Park, we visited the new CNN-Time-Warner towers on Columbus Circle [was glad to see that the Edward Durell Stone designed Huntington Hartford Building still standing and intact] walked south to Times Square, hopped the New York City Subway to Christopher Street Station and toured Greenwich Village, taking in the West Side Highway, and Richard Meier's new blue glass high rise Charles Street apartments lining the Hudson River's edge by the old Piers | Our return trip uptown was highlighted with a gallery visit, a stop for French pastries in Chelsea, a visit to Grand Central Station and Rockefeller Center [where I did a pastel sketch which I am turning into a real watercolor tonight] Then, finally, the bus trip back home | Bob + Buddy, Vee and their friend Jay went to see the Gates later in the day | I'm told Buddy was able to get one of the fabric squares they were giving out to visitors | Jay walked briskly through the park, we hear, well ahead of everyone else | And while he casually dismissed the display with "...you've seen one gate, you've seen them all..." once they left Central Park, it made enough of an impression on him that Jay, [who has long lived in New York City] took his guests on an unplanned ride to the borough of Queens | Finally, returning to the Village where they started, the group, including Buddy, came in contact with a gate of another color ~ the subway turnstile | Since the digital [a Sony 3.2 megapixel Cybershot] wasn't working properly [it is almost two years old with no problems] I'll be waiting to have mine put on a CD to read them | Thank you Vee | Lest we forget, There are websites available for you to get the details of the Gates Project and it's construction
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