The Gates

Just some thoughts:

Have gone to visit the park twice and this is what I observed:

Very crowded, everyone was smiling, taking pictures, being very respectful and having a great time. People of all races %26amp; nationalities (could tell by the # of different languages I heard),all ages, just out enjoying our park, even in the cold weather. This project has garnered worldwide attention, and I know many people who are visiting just to see them. So, love them or hate them, you cannot deny that they have been a very positive thing for NYC, increasing tourism during a very slow visitor time of year, and the dollars they bring with it. So, if you hate them, you have one more week, and if you don%26#39;t, at least you were able to experience them.

The Gates

A reputable source has estimated ';The Gates'; drew more than 1,000,000 visitors to Central Park.

To put this in perspective, this exhibition drew more than the combined attendance of three of the decade%26#39;s most astonishing musuem exhibitions: ';Leonardo Master Draftsmen'; at the Met; ';Leonardo'; at the Louvre; and ';The Medicis and Michealangelo'; in Chicago.

';Leonardo Master Draftsman';, an exhibit that will in all likelihood never be logisitically possible again in our lifetimes, drew 400,000 or so.

One hundred original renderings by one of humanity%26#39;s greatest minds, transported at great risk from museums and collections around the world--each one priceless and irreplaceable--did not ignite the artistic ';must-see'; sensibilities of anywhere near the number of people who could not resist the urge to walk beneath a few miles of saffron drapery.

Just a note: on the Friday night that I waited approximately 30 minutes to the galleries displaying da Vinci%26#39;s drawings it did not look like people were having a great time or smiling.

There was--for the lack of a better word--';reverance'; displayed just as the was when Michelangelo%26#39;s Pieta was on display in New York in 1964.

Herein, I think, lies the differance between great art and ';performance'; art. The former humbles us and silences us as we encounter something ephemeral and almost divine; the latter incites controversy and we carry away our memories of it not with some lingering, visceral sense of being brushed by invisible wings, but with a coffee mug or baseball cap displaying the event%26#39;s logo.

The Gates

Agree with you wholeheartedly.....that is how I felt when I saw the Mona Lisa, and the statue of David, and other great art.

Can anyone tell me how long the exhibition is on for ? many thanks

As far as I know it is due to start coming down on Feb. 28. Heard rumor it may extend for a week but nothing substantiated. Check out www.wirednewyork for Gates info and pix.

excel