Viewing: From the Roof: Christo and Jeanne-Claude's The Gates in Central Park
Dates: February 12-27, 2005 (weather permitting)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art will offer visitors an array of viewing opportunities – highlighted by the special off-season opening of its Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden (weather permitting) – as well as other events to provide exceptional access to Christo and Jeanne-Claude's widely anticipated public work of art The Gates, Central Park, New York City, 1979–2005, which will be installed in Central Park February 12-27, 2005 (weather permitting).
The Metropolitan's Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden, which offers spectacular views across Central Park to the Manhattan skyline, will be open for an unprecedented 16 winter days (weather permitting) during the period that The Gates will be installed. Normally the Cantor Roof Garden is closed to the public from November through late April.
From the vantage point of the Roof Garden, visitors will enjoy a dramatic bird's-eye view of this extraordinary work of art and cultural phenomenon, which has been 26 years in the development and approval phases. The monumental undertaking – the husband-and-wife artist team's first temporary outdoor work of art in New York, their home of over 40
years – consists of 7,500 saffron-colored vinyl gates (each 16 feet in height and hung with saffron fabric panels) placed at 12-foot intervals over 23 miles of pedestrian walkways that lace the park.
Last year, from April 6 through July 25, the Metropolitan presented a special exhibition of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's The Gates, featuring preparatory drawings and collages by Christo, photographs, maps, and other materials related to the evolution of The Gates since 1979. Recalling the installation, Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan, commented: "We were delighted to present the blueprints, if you will, of this far-reaching project, which the visiting public was able to preview here at the Museum. Now, at long last Christo and Jeanne-Claude's monumental installation will see fruition. This work of massive scope will surely galvanize the interest of both New Yorkers and visitors from around the nation as well as the world, and constitute an unforgettable tribute to the grandeur of Central Park, and a reaffirmation of the continuity of culture and the centrality of art to the life of our city."
The Roof Garden will be open, weather permitting, every day from Saturday, February 12, through Sunday, February 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m., except Monday, February 14. Access to the Roof Garden is free with Museum admission.
In addition, the following dining areas within the Metropolitan Museum afford views of Central Park and The Gates – the Petrie Court Café and the American Wing Café, both located on the Museum's first floor and open to the public; and The Trustees Dining Room, located on the fifth floor and reserved for the exclusive use of Museum Members (reservations required).
On Friday, February 18, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., a book-signing event with the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude will take place in the Museum's Book Shop. Christo & Jeanne-Claude: On the Way toThe Gates, Central Park, New York City, the publication that accompanied the Metropolitan Museum's 2004 exhibition documenting the evolution of The Gates, features more than 200 illustrations and an essay and interviews by Jonathan Fineberg. Copies of the book, published by Yale University Press, in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, will be available for sale (paperback, $29.95).
The Museum's Store will offer a selection of merchandise related to The Gates, including posters signed by the artists, a saffron-colored tote bag, wristwatches, and a scarf, as well as limited-edition prints by Christo related to other works by the artists. The selection will be viewable online at www.metmuseum.org/store in 'The Mezzanine Gallery' and 'From Our Exhibitions' sections. Proceeds from the sale of publications and related reproductions benefit The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Nurture New York's Nature. Christo and Jeanne-Claude derive no income from the sale of these items.
For those who are unable to see The Gates in Central Park, the Museum's Web site www.metmuseum.org will feature a series of short videos, as well as a selection of still images of the installation. The video images will include the unfurling of the saffron-colored fabric panels that will take place on February 12 (weather permitting), as well as views of the Park from the Metropolitan Museum showing the unfurled gates in place. For more information about Christo and Jeanne-Claude's The Gates, visit the Web site www.christojeanneclaude.net.
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