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Notes on a talk by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Last night I heard Christo and Jeanne-Claude give a talk to a smallish group of art enthusiasts in NYC. I learned something about them and their art and here are my observations.

  1. How can people live in New York City for 41 years and not learn the English language? Christo spoke like he had just gotten off the boat from Bulgaria (if there is a boat from there) and Jeanne-Caude was not much better though she did seem to know more words that he did. [I contend that if I were to spend 41 years in Sophia I would know how to speak the Bulgarian language fluently and without an American accent.]
  2. All of their art is created "only for themselves" and they could not care less if anyone likes it or not. However, everyone must live with it because they usurp all of the natural and man made elements in and around their work. As Jeanne-Claude said, "the rocks, the trees, the New York City skyline" are all part of The Gates. In my opinion this is a totalitarian world view that works for propaganda, but is antithetical to art.
  3. They are not capable of answering a question with a simple or even complicated answer. As an example: a man asked why The Gates would only be on display for 16 days? Their answer was in the form of a question - "Why wrap the islands for only 12 days? Why Running Fence for only 14 days?" And on and on... So I guess there is no answer to the question or they have never really thought about it.
  4. They won't talk about religion, politics or their personal histories because that has "nothing to do with Art". Well then what the hell does art have to do with?
  5. A woman asked what had influenced their design for The Gates and again they had no answer, but pretended not to understand her language (English) and her question. "We are old" they said and moved on to the next question. However, I did take 10 minutes to Google the words "the gates" and it's amazing what I came up with. I have posted a few of my findings below.


Clowns? Yes, I think so and with an insane clown posse. Posted by Hello

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