The Gates documentary on HBO

A few weeks ago I began to notice sporadic adds for The Gates on the top of cabs. Needless to say I was a bit puzzled since The Gates took place three years ago. Soon after I came to the realization that these ads were actually not for the project itself, but for its documentary presented on HBO. Today I’m posting since I had a chance to watch The Gates documentary. The documentary covers Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates project in New York City’s Central Park from its infancy. Apparently they were adamant about filming the process of proposing the project to the city’s officials. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the green light for a quarter of century and the result is this intriguing documentary. The film begins with the two young hopefuls, Christo and Jeanne-Claude presenting the Gates to New York in 1979. The reactions ranges from anger for The Gates defacing Central Park to racial inequality and are surprisingly negative. Someone even compares building The Gates on the park to having Picasso paint Guernica on da Vinci’s Last Supper. The documentary also shows Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s good moments and bad moments and does not neglect to show some unflattering moments that are arrogant and demanding. All of which portrays them as not simply heroes, but rather as human beings with a dream. Over all, the documentary gives us an insight into process, procedures and public reaction to The Gates. After watching the film I couldn’t help but feel grateful that The Gates was approved and that I had the pleasure of experiencing it first hand