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HBO: What were your sources of inspiration for The
Gates?
JEANNE-CLAUDE: Central Park was the source of inspiration for
The Gates Project, although The Gates is not
the first project for New York City that we
dreamt up.
CHRISTO: In 1964, when we first arrived in New York
City, I remember vividly seeing the skyline of
Manhattan, and our first proposal of 1964
was to wrap two lower Manhattan buildings.
We never got permission.
HBO: What did you want to wrap them in?
CHRISTO:
With fabric, like a sculpture.
JEANNE-CLAUDE:
Fabric and rope.
HBO: What kind of response did you get when you
proposed that to the city?
CHRISTO:
They told us these were privately owned
buildings. They thought we were lunatics.
HBO: Why did you pick Central Park for The Gates?
CHRISTO: Well, to begin with, Central Park is a man-made park. The entire park is surrounded
with a stone wall. And entry into the park is
through openings which are called 'gates.'
They were not invented by us, but by Olmsted
and Vaux who designed the park.
Our project started at the entrances of Central
Park, and we designed rectangular portals to
reflect how the park is situated in Manhattan:
the rectangular shape of The Gates reflects
the rectangular footprints of hundreds of city
blocks around Central Park. And the fabric
moving in all directions very capriciously, very
whimsically reflects the serpentine walkway
system of the park, and of course the shape of
the leafless branches of the trees.
JEANNE-CLAUDE: And the stone wall all around Central Park
does not allow the public to enter Central
Park wherever they please. They have to find
an entrance which is an interruption in that
wall and that interruption is called a gate.
And it is through those gates that Olmsted
and Vaux wanted the public to enter Central
Park. So even the name "The Gates" comes
from Central Park.
HBO: Did your initial concept for The Gates change
over time? Did the project turn out as you as
you first envisioned it?
CHRISTO: It's very important to understand that we
never do the same thing twice; each of our
projects is unique. We'll never do another
Gates. Each project is a unique image. We
do not know in advance how the work will
look. I do preparatory drawings, but they are
only projections of our vision. This is why for
our large outdoor works we always do a life
size test using a variety of possibilities. That
way we see the color of the fabric changing
with the snow with the wind with the rain
with the sun, and to finalize how the project
will look.
HBO: Why make art in the first place?
JEANNE-CLAUDE:
Well, we want to create works of art of joy and
beauty. And like all true art, it has no other
purpose than being a work of art. One should
look at it and enjoy it. But in the end, it's just
a piece of art.
HBO: The Gates took you over two decades to
complete. Where do you get the patience?
JEANNE-CLAUDE:
When we're asked that question, we always
answer that it is not a matter of patience, it is
a matter of passion.
CHRISTO: Of course it's not an easy ride. Some of the
projects we've proposed over the years have
been refused. But we never do other people's
ideas; our ideas come out of our two hearts
and our two heads. And if a project is
refused, there are two possibilities. The
project remains in our heart and we try very
hard to do it, like twenty-five years to wrap
the Reichstag in Berlin, or twenty-six years for
The Gates. Or a project is refused and it is no
longer in our heart and we abandon it. Why
should we do it if it is no longer in our heart?
HBO: In the movie, we see people having very
different reactions to The Gates.
CHRISTO: Yes. And all interpretations are legitimate. In
the end, this project is about people. Often
the art in New York is related to the buildings,
to grandiose things. This project is extremely
intimate, very private. It suddenly puts all
the human dimensions so close to everybody.
HBO: What do you hope audiences will take away
from the film?
JEANNE-CLAUDE:
Well, we love the film and the more we see it
the better we like it. But it is not a substitute
for The Gates, it is about The Gates.
CHRISTO:
Nothing can replace The Gates. That unique
experience cannot be repeated. The important
thing in the film is it offers something that
nobody knew about the early years, the
hidden part of The Gates. I hope people will
take the time to watch the film. It's very
private film and also it's very public. And it's
so different from other films about art.
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