By Taylor Long

If you happened to venture to Central Park between Feb. 12 and Feb. 27, you may have noticed something unusual. 7,500 unusual things, to be exact. For those 16 days, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s artistic installation, known as “The Gates,” covered the walkways of one of the most well-known parks in the world.

The Gates were completely financed by the husband and wife duo, reportedly costing them about $21 million. Money was raised through the sales of studies, prepatory drawings and collages, scale models, earlier works of the ’50s and ’60s and original lithographs of other subjects. So, what purpose do $21 million Gates serve? Simply to be beautiful, they said.

“The art, free to all, is a memorable joyous experience for the people of New York, as a democratic expression that Olmstead invoked when he conceived a ‘central’ park. The luminous moving fabric underlines the organic design of the park, while the rectangular poles are a reminder of the grid pattern of the city blocks surrounding the park. The Gates harmonize with the beauty of Central Park,” read one of the brochures available for purchase in the gift shop.

These brochures were sold along with maps, lithographs, posters, photo-books and other commemorative gifts. Proceeds from memorabilia go towards Nurture New York’s Nature Inc. and the Arts, Central Park and other New York City parks.

Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude were working since 1979 to get the permit necessary to set up The Gates as a gift to their home city. The art itself was just a small portion of that. It also served to provide employment for workers through the manufacturing, assembly, installation, maintenance and removal of the project. Out-of-town visitors were also expected to bring economic prosperity to the city through use of public transportation, hotel costs, dining, shopping and the like. Even hot dog stands around the park boasted more profits.

The Gates were constructed from iron and rip-stop nylon fabric, all of which is said to be recyclable. The 15,000 bases equaled about 5,290 U.S. tons of steel, which is equivalent to two-thirds the amount used in the Eiffel Tower. Around 1,067,300 square feet of saffron-colored rip-stop fabric was used.

Much like public reaction, students’ reactions to the work seemed to vary.

“Other than how many there were, they weren’t that impressive to me at all,” Anna Piazza, a sophomore Art History major, said.

However, Erica Knowles, a junior Music major, was a fan of the project.

“I enjoyed seeing a public art project in New York City. I consider it to be art,” Knowles said.

Nick Rafter, a senior Political Science major may have caught on to what accounts for such differing opinions.

“I think they were a fun and interesting addition to Central Park when they were there, but I’m not sure everyone really got their meaning,” Rafter said.

Probably unlike most viewers, Rafter had the opportunity to see them from multiple points of view.

“I got a chance to see them up front and from the 45th floor of a skyscraper. I think they looked kinda gaudy from the ground, but from above, they were wonderful,” Rafter said.

Though the art of Christo and Jeanne-Claude may have been strange to New Yorkers, the United States and other countries are no stranger to their art. The two artists are well-known for many similar projects, such as the Valley Curtain in Rifle, Colorado, the Running Fence in Sonoma and Marin Counties in California, the Surrounded Islands in Biscayune Bay of greater Miami, Fla. and the wrapped Pont Neuf bridge in Paris.

They are currently working on a project that would suspend fabric over a river in Colorado.

For a city that is not exactly known for its ability to keep things clean, the amount of vandalism reported was rather low. Three men from New Jersey were arrested for writing their names on the Gates in marker, a Taxi reportedly hit one and on the last day, it was discovered that someone had cut hearts out of some of the fabric.

Whether the message was received or not, there’s one thing we can be certain of: New York City has seen a lot-and now it can add the work of Christo and Jeanne-Claude to the list.