ART WEEK ONE HUMA 1315
How did Christo and Jeanne-Claude execute their project The Gates? How do the gates themselves relate to the history and geography of their location? What did the gates evoke for Japanese viewers?
Christo and Jeanne-Claude executed their project out of pocket, meaning they paid for everything the project cost on their own. The project alone cost them about $21 million. They did not accept any kind of sponsorship. The project was called, The Gates. The Gates is located at Central Park, New York. It relates to history because it is a man-made structure. Central Park wasn’t as beautiful back then, than it is today. Just like The Gates, Central Park was somewhat man-made into its beauty. Given a rocky, swampy, and almost tree-less landscape, two architects, Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux were to create something beautiful and turn it into a park. Granted the commission they created lakes and hill sides making it look all natural. Just like the park, The Gates too were built into beauty. If you looked at the park today, you wouldn’t believe it was a man-made structure. The Gates relate to the geography of their location because of how huge it is. It spreads out through the 23 miles of path in the park. They are spread 12 feet apart, and depending on the width of the sidewalk, that’s how wide they were. If you were to look down at the park from above, you would say that The Gates looked like an orange river going through Central Park. Japanese viewers didn’t see The Gates the way everyone else did. It reminded them one of their famous shrines called, Fushimi Inari. The shrine is located in Kyoto, Japan and represents the god of rice. It reminds them of Fushimi Inari because, very similar to The Gates, there are more than 10,000 black and orange torii gates that line up across 4 kilometers of mountain trails.
Christo and Jeanne-Claude executed their project out of pocket, meaning they paid for everything the project cost on their own. The project alone cost them about $21 million. They did not accept any kind of sponsorship. The project was called, The Gates. The Gates is located at Central Park, New York. It relates to history because it is a man-made structure. Central Park wasn’t as beautiful back then, than it is today. Just like The Gates, Central Park was somewhat man-made into its beauty. Given a rocky, swampy, and almost tree-less landscape, two architects, Frederick Law Olmstead and Calvert Vaux were to create something beautiful and turn it into a park. Granted the commission they created lakes and hill sides making it look all natural. Just like the park, The Gates too were built into beauty. If you looked at the park today, you wouldn’t believe it was a man-made structure. The Gates relate to the geography of their location because of how huge it is. It spreads out through the 23 miles of path in the park. They are spread 12 feet apart, and depending on the width of the sidewalk, that’s how wide they were. If you were to look down at the park from above, you would say that The Gates looked like an orange river going through Central Park. Japanese viewers didn’t see The Gates the way everyone else did. It reminded them one of their famous shrines called, Fushimi Inari. The shrine is located in Kyoto, Japan and represents the god of rice. It reminds them of Fushimi Inari because, very similar to The Gates, there are more than 10,000 black and orange torii gates that line up across 4 kilometers of mountain trails.