I've been thinking a lot about my trip to New York. Rather than write one lengthy entry about the trip, I decided I would just drop the highlights one at a time into the blog. I'll start with the reason for my trip, The Gates.
The Gates were mind blowing. They were so odd; they seemed almost alien, like they had dropped from the sky. On Monday, when I was there, it had snowed in the morning, so the gates were starkly set apart from the white landscape in ways that probably made them even more of a contrast from the rest of the park. The day was cool and very overcast. The overcast and fog conspired to hide much of the city skyline and the caused the entire landscape to take on a muted gray coloration. The muted gray tones served as the perfect contrasting backdrop for the bright saffron gates. While it might seem obvious, the fact that the viewer actually has an opportunity to enter into the art is a very powerful and palpable part of the experience. Since you don't just go through one isolated gate you become a very real part of the art. No matter where the eye fell on the landscape, it seemed like you could spot a gate somewhere. There are so many gates, the gates actually appear to recede into an infinite distance. This sense of an infinite landscape mirrored my experience in Manhattan as well. I am used to downtown areas that end, but Manhattan just seems to keep going in every direction as far as the eye can see. I appreciated the fact that the color was a relatively non-political color so there weren't any nationalistic overtones. The fabric was very dense and had an interesting texture to them as well. Some were wet, probably from the occasional thrown snowball. At the same time the fabric was light enough to allow them to allow light to illuminate them from behind. There was a sprinkling of volunteers in the park, who would answer questions and flip the fabric back if it got tangled around the gate in the wind. The experience left me feeling very contemplative. I was with traveling companions, which made the experience a little strange for me as I felt like I had to engage in conversation or think about what they wanted to do or which direction they wanted to walk. The companionship I had on my trip with Larry, Eric and Rachel was hands down the best part of the trip and I loved the great times we had. At the same time I would have been happy to spend the day quietly walking without having to worry about anyone else. It's not out of selfishness, but rather having the time to really drink in the scene and stop when I wanted to stop, without worrying if I was bugging anyone else. There were a ton of people walking in the park, including the actor Ben Stiller, who was pointed out to me by my compatriots. I loved people watching especially the people taking photographs. I took quite a few pictures of people taking pictures, which I call meta-photography. Although my tickets were quite cheap, and my lodging was free, I've never spent so much money on art. When I look back at the trip, it was worth every penny and I would gladly do it again. The more I think about the trip the happier I feel about it. Don't forget to check out the photos of the gates, if you haven't done so already.
The Gates were mind blowing. They were so odd; they seemed almost alien, like they had dropped from the sky. On Monday, when I was there, it had snowed in the morning, so the gates were starkly set apart from the white landscape in ways that probably made them even more of a contrast from the rest of the park. The day was cool and very overcast. The overcast and fog conspired to hide much of the city skyline and the caused the entire landscape to take on a muted gray coloration. The muted gray tones served as the perfect contrasting backdrop for the bright saffron gates. While it might seem obvious, the fact that the viewer actually has an opportunity to enter into the art is a very powerful and palpable part of the experience. Since you don't just go through one isolated gate you become a very real part of the art. No matter where the eye fell on the landscape, it seemed like you could spot a gate somewhere. There are so many gates, the gates actually appear to recede into an infinite distance. This sense of an infinite landscape mirrored my experience in Manhattan as well. I am used to downtown areas that end, but Manhattan just seems to keep going in every direction as far as the eye can see. I appreciated the fact that the color was a relatively non-political color so there weren't any nationalistic overtones. The fabric was very dense and had an interesting texture to them as well. Some were wet, probably from the occasional thrown snowball. At the same time the fabric was light enough to allow them to allow light to illuminate them from behind. There was a sprinkling of volunteers in the park, who would answer questions and flip the fabric back if it got tangled around the gate in the wind. The experience left me feeling very contemplative. I was with traveling companions, which made the experience a little strange for me as I felt like I had to engage in conversation or think about what they wanted to do or which direction they wanted to walk. The companionship I had on my trip with Larry, Eric and Rachel was hands down the best part of the trip and I loved the great times we had. At the same time I would have been happy to spend the day quietly walking without having to worry about anyone else. It's not out of selfishness, but rather having the time to really drink in the scene and stop when I wanted to stop, without worrying if I was bugging anyone else. There were a ton of people walking in the park, including the actor Ben Stiller, who was pointed out to me by my compatriots. I loved people watching especially the people taking photographs. I took quite a few pictures of people taking pictures, which I call meta-photography. Although my tickets were quite cheap, and my lodging was free, I've never spent so much money on art. When I look back at the trip, it was worth every penny and I would gladly do it again. The more I think about the trip the happier I feel about it. Don't forget to check out the photos of the gates, if you haven't done so already.
