An Artist’s Impulse – The Gates
Reflections on Artistic Intention, Public Perceptions of Change and Modern Art
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Photo courtesy – Julia Janßen
I recently watched Antonio Ferrera’s documentary “The Gates” about the 26-year struggle of Christo and Jeanne-Claude to install 23 miles of saffron-colored steel gates and nylon flags inside NYC’s Central Park.
I was taken back by how the committees, governmental officials, etc. were hard pressed to find what was wrong about this project. They were determined to show all the ways it would upset people. They were using their imagination and creativity to suppress and destroy potential beauty and creativity. It was heartbreaking. It literally made me cry with the weight of it all. How do artists keep going on such a large platform? Christo and Jeanne-Claude weren’t even asking for funding. They financed everything. The cost, an estimated $20 million dollars in 2005, would go towards creating new jobs in NYC for a free art installation the public could experience. And it would only be up for two weeks.
In the documentary, a reporter asked if the tragedy of September 11th was a motivator for the artists to persevere with the project. Jeanne-Claude addresses a primal urge by comparing the project to a having child saying: you don’t have a child for someone else, you have it because you want it, because you are driven to have it.
Christo’s comments were rooted in his suppressed experiences in Bulgaria. “This is the most essential part of all our projects. Coming from a former Communist country, I will never never do something for some reason. I will do only things because I like to do it. I have unstoppable urge to do this project. It is absolutely irrational, irresponsible without any justification. This project happens only because artists like to have them.”
Photo courtesy – Kristin Resurreccion
A lot of the public comments in the documentary were negative during the process. Is this a metaphor for this country’s “Never let them see you sweat” mentality? The process was a hassle. The known (the look of Central Park) was inconvenienced by the unknown (The Gates). This was upsetting to many.
Was it because the piece was modern without a clear explanation of its meaning? Why do we fear the unknown even when we know that it won’t last forever?
What I think is interesting about art that doesn’t supply a blatant meaning is the opening it creates for the viewer. To some that opening is filled with appreciation or inspiration for others it is not filled and instead becomes a void. The void is internal but who likes to feel empty inside? So they lash out at that which ‘made them feel’ like that.
I believe this approach to looking for answers from the outside, instead of inwardly, is a direct by-product of industrialized education. If it was supported from the beginning that the true answers are from within and the provocations and questions are from experiences on the outside, I think we would approach life with more allowance and respect. We would welcome experiences that pose questions because it would be another opportunity to learn more about ourselves when we look inward.
Photo courtesy of Thomas
A man, who looked as if he’s lived a difficult life, approached Christo and Jeanne-Claude to comment on the work:
“I love this park. I know this park so well. Most people don’t even know that this park was totally man made. People think this is natural… I know Central Park. I know every inch of it. I know it so well, and now for you to do this… I can’t even give words to how magnificent this is to be something so big. A lot of people will say ‘Why didn’t you use that money for victims of the disaster?’ But for something like this the money is well spent. People think that money, that you can only give to people by feeding them or something. This [The Gates] feeds the soul.”
His comments touch me on many levels. It supports my feelings that doing something from your heart because you have to do it will inspire and feed others in ways we couldn’t imagine or plan. And that we can not presume to know what other people need in order to live their lives to the fullest.
SELF OBSERVATION
- What project are you driven to do with an irrational desire?
- How long have you or are you willing to fight to achieve that goal?