Three Cheers For Tarp!

It really is amazing. I've never been in the city where there was this much communal good cheer. The park was more packed then I have ever seen, even more than during the "Paul Simon In The Park" concert. There was actually a crowd of people cheering for someone de-tangling one of the gates.

Having seen the park hundreds of times in my life, if you throw up a little steel and some saffron tarp, its a whole new world. I felt like I was walking through some sort of surreal painting.

Christo & Jeanne-Claude's intent, apparently, was to just make something beautiful to look at. No political statements, no introspective commentaries, just some good old fashioned fun. I think they achieved it in spades. The dreary leafless park was glowing with orange from the highest peaks of the Great Hill to the valleys beneath the overpass (a.k.a. the public restroom).

I don't think you need to particularly like their work to get a kick out of the enormity of the project. I'm a big fan of universally accessible art, and man, is this accessible. Though it's a crying shame that this installation is so fleeting; 16 days to remember something that will probably never happen again in my lifetime.

I'm happy to say, however, that the Christo's on my wall are looking mighty good right now. Heh.

Posted by davidissimo  ::  Permalink  ::  Comments [1]  ::