STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

kahluamilk · Dooney & Bourke

yay or nay: NY Christo Art Exhibit

cc · Marc Jacobs

I'm not the biggest fan of installation art but I'll happily take Christo's works at face value and appreciate the fact that projects like the umbrellas look awesome.

I'm really glad that the gates finally happened over 20 years after he first proposed it.
I think it would have been really interesting if the project had happened in the 70s since NYC was in terrible shape at the time and the park was dangerous and filthy.

The one thing that I don't like is that the gates are everywhere. I thought it was just going to be along one long circuit of the park, but they are pretty much on every road.
My friend and I drove through the park late last night and the gates definitely look nice but I think I would prefer it if they were more spread out for some reason. I'll probably head over today to check them out in person.

-- Edited by cc at 12:29, 2005-02-13

Hermes

Now, I totally understand the value of art, and I think this is a great piece of art... I know the artists paid for this out of their own pockets (no grant money used, nothing - it was their personal funds - expensive marketing campaign, I guess)... BUT 20 million for 16 days which will only allow only so many to see it, so how many people will it really impact... It really needs to be up longer... Because it is only up there for a fleeting period of time, I feel like their money could have been better spent... JIMO... But, if I look at it from a marketing perspective - it was a huge campaign to help them sell their art... So if it's simply a marketing campaign, then isn't its value as art somewhat diminished? What do you guys think about this?

Here is an example of the art they are selling - some pieces are $800,000 according to a story on 60 Minutes last night http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.html

Christo
The Gates, Central Park, New York 1979-2005
Drawing 2004 In two parts: 38 x 244 cm and 106.6 x 244 cm
(15x96” and 42x96”) Pencil, charcoal, pastel, wax crayon, fabric sample, aerial photograph, tape and hand-drawn technical data.
Photo: Wolfgang Volz
©2004 Christo Ref.# 047

-- Edited by detroit at 09:20, 2005-02-14

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cc · Marc Jacobs

quote:
Originally posted by: detroit
But, if I look at it from a marketing perspective - it was a huge campaign to help them sell their art... So if it's simply a marketing campaign, then isn't its value as art somewhat diminished? What do you guys think about this? Here is an example of the art they are selling - some pieces are $800,000 according to a story on 60 Minutes last night http://www.christojeanneclaude.net/tg.html

I didn't see the 60 Minutes story but based on everything I've read and learned in art history classes about Christo, it's not a marketing campaign at all. For artists like Christo, Matthew Barney, anyone who doesn't create art that can be purchased by a collector or museum, the only way for them to make money to sustain themselves and fund their future work other than hoping for grants is to sell sketches and models.

Christo spent close to 30 years trying to get this particular project to happen so if he were just interesting in marketing his drawings, which are not his actual work, I would imagine he would have given up on this NYC idea and moved onto something easier to accomplish a long time ago.

This 2000 article from Salon is a fairly decent overview of his life and work.

Hermes

"I didn't see the 60 Minutes story but based on everything I've read and learned in art history classes about Christo, it's not a marketing campaign at all. For artists like Christo, Matthew Barney, anyone who doesn't create art that can be purchased by a collector or museum, the only way for them to make money to sustain themselves and fund their future work other than hoping for grants is to sell sketches and models.

Christo spent close to 30 years trying to get this particular project to happen so if he were just interesting in marketing his drawings, which are not his actual work, I would imagine he would have given up on this NYC idea and moved onto something easier to accomplish a long time ago."

I realize that no one has told us it is a marketing campaign, but in a way it is - it created a huge media frenzy and they were well aware it would and I'm sure there was strategy behind it so the exposure could be leveraged. I am also familiar with Christo's work and understand the impact it can have. I know they need to sell sketches and models to support works/themselves as well. There is a marketing angle to this as well - just thought I would bring it up to take a look at the other side of the coin - that side being it's not just art for art's sake.

Mia · Kate Spade

Well I don't know much about the artist at all but is this the same person who wrapped some trees in fabric at one point? For some reason I thought this NYC installation was going to be trees wrapped in fabric and...I was all attached to that idea and the 'gates' thing is throwing me off. As is the colour orange. A friend who lives in NYC went to see it and said that all the orange reminded him of the 'safety orange' colour he sees around NYC (building sites, road works etc.) all day. I would have loved bright yellow or red more. I liked the thought of the visual of the trees all wrapped in fabric, one huge piece of fabric stretching from tree to tree (I swear I have seen a pic of this before? am I imagining it?). There's something 'orderly' about the gates that I am a little disappointed in.

But on the whole, yeah, of course I am for it!

nyc_shopgirl · Dooney & Bourke

I am planning to go but not when it is 20 degrees out

honey · Gucci

i went to see it today. the concept is interesting, the technical aspect of it is impressive, and it looks really cool from an objective standpoint. but as far as pure aesthetics are concerned i wasn't moved by it. as cc said, they're all over the park, so after a certain amount of time (for me it was about 12 blocks) i "got" the idea and felt i could move on. to be fair, i haven't read any of the history behind it, outside of what's been posted here, so maybe if i knew more about that i'd have a different opinion. and i do plan to look into that aspect of it more later. though overall i liked the idea of creating something that can be enjoyed by all (relatively speaking since you'd have to be in the area during this time) for free.