What happened to The Gates at Central Park?

The Gates, in Central Park, 26 years in the making, mile upon mile of billowing fabric, is the largest artwork since the Sphinx. But what does it mean? As Jeanne-Claude might say, what a dumb question. read more

Here's what happened to The Gates: they exposed a nasty, small-minded undercurrent of thinking that I was ashamed to see in the city I lived in and loved. Significant numbers of people said things like you did: it was a waste of money. And just like you, most of those people condemned the project without bothering to visit it. read more

The books and other memorabilia distributed by Christo and Jeanne-Claude refer to the project as The Gates, Central Park, New York, 1979–2005 in reference to the time that passed from the artists' initial proposal until they were able to go ahead with it. The Gates were greeted with mixed reactions. read more