i'm excited about this too; have been about the possibility for a long time. i grew up in northern california, where in the early '70s they had a project called 'running fence', a miles-long series of white curtains running from the inland hills of sonoma county all the way to the sea. as a budding environmentalist, i was kind of against as all the debate and rancor went on, but when i saw it, i was totally transformed. the curtains expressed a deep respect for my beloved nor cal hills, and made you see them anew.
this project has been through a lot of struggle to happen (though christo and jeanne-claude have for years now said they consider the whole pre-process to be part of the art work). our park commissioner under giuliani, the ignorant and racist henry stern, wouldn't know art if it bit him on the ass. he made a comment (i can't remember it exactly) about this project that struck me as one of the most ignorant things i've heard. our current mayor bloomberg, whose poll numbers are down but who i'm mostly impressed with, certainly had something to do with moving this forward. he's a huge fan of public art, having brokered deals that have gotten museums lending large sculptures to public areas. he also walks the walk as a private citizen, being a strong patron. i could wish it wasn't the first week in february. if we are in the middle of a cold snap like the one we've been in, visiting the installation will be 'no walk in the park'. patrick np - talk to her (soundtrack)
