In 1979, world renowned artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude would propose a thrilling new art project to the city of New York. ‘The Gates’ would involve the placement of several thousand orange gates throughout Central Park, lining the walkways of the world famous landmark. The idea was met with a great deal of resistance, ultimately ending in a resounding ‘no’. Luckily for us, the Maysles brothers, Albert and David, were there to capture it all on film. The project was then put on indefinite hold, and then, over 25 years later, the big apple had a massive change of heart when newly elected Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an art fan, announced that he had granted permission to Christo and Jeanne-Claude to bring their Gates to Central Park.

What makes the Maysles ‘Christo and Jeanne-Claude’ films so interesting is the argument posed within each one of their installments; what is art? Although Christo is a well respected and trained artist, the large scale temporary pieces he’s so well known for seem to draw much criticism over whether or not he’s simply wasting everyone’s time and money. One of my favourite films of the series, ‘The Running Fence’, sees Christo defending his project, an eight foot high fabric fence which ran nearly twenty five miles through two counties in Northern California, in front of a city council meeting that’s made up of land owners who seem polarized by the idea of allowing his fence to run through their property. Most claim that it simply isn’t art and question the purpose of spending so much money on such a silly thing. Meanwhile, a fifty-something year old housewife takes the stand, comparing Christo’s art to the meals she spends so much time putting together for her family at dinner time. Just because they’re temporary doesn’t mean she doesn’t consider them art.

Although ‘The Gate’s’ might not have some of the shocking drama displayed in ‘Umbrella’s’, or the environmental controversy of the ‘Surrounded Islands’, it’s still met with a great deal of negativity by many New Yorkers. The most interesting part of the film for me was the footage of their first attempt. Finally we get to see a Christo film end in failure! However, we all know that eventually The Gates were raised, all 7,500 of them, and Christo got his way yet again. I’ve always found it bold how he and Jeanne-Claude claim that their art is for nobody but themselves. An interesting statement considering their work is so public and invades the lives of thousands of people during the short time it’s on display. In one scene a reporter asks is The Gates are a response to the September 11th terrorist attacks, and Jeanne-Claude very bluntly states that no, The Gates are for nobody but Christo and herself. They do it because they want it. ‘Let them eat Gates!’ as Jeanne-Claude so elegantly put it in one of their many press conferences.

As is the case with all of the Christo films, the last third of the movie is devoted to capturing the final project on film. Due to the temporary nature of his work, the Maysles films are one of the major documentations of their existence, and because of that, we see The Gates from just about every possible angle. The funny thing is, throughout all of these documentaries we here all of the naysayers in the initial proposal stages, but once the pieces are finally installed, it’s all about the celebration of the art. Something that seems to be more of an editorial choice rather than a complete change of heart on behalf of the Christo haters. Although I do question some of the projects Christo has taken on in the past, there’s no denying the thrill of watching these massive installations slowly reveal themselves. The community effort, both to complete and to stop these things, is inspiring. I admire the work put into these projects, and the scale is quite unbelievable. Like it or not, Christo’s The Gates was a site to be seen, and luckily, for those who found the giant orange gates to be an eye sore, they only lasted for two weeks. The New Jersey skyline lasts forever.

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