It's been twenty years since Christo and Jeanne-Claude adorned Central Park with their running fabric series, and to celebrate that visionary installation, 'The Gates' has returned, but as an augmented reality (AR) experience. The celebrated project that once brought 7,503 saffron-colored gates to the park can now be revisited at Hudson Yards's The Shed in a retrospective that includes models, drawings, and photographs until March 23, and for those who prefer the real thing—albeit digitally enhanced—visitors to Central Park can now see 'The Gates' via AR by scanning QR codes around the park, as Gothamist reported.
In a move to honor a historically poignant moment for New York City, a moment that intertwined art and public healing post-9/11, 'The Gates' can now be experienced through the Bloomberg Connects app; this is an endeavor supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation, the Shed, the Central Park Conservancy, and the city's parks department, with the digital aspect capturing the essence of the exhibit just as it stood in 2005 — and let's not forget Michael Bloomberg, the 2005 mayor, was instrumental in green lighting the original project, as per Gothamist.
"We have the photographs and we have the film footage, this is (a) more interactive and more (on site) record of how the project looked," Vladimir Yavachev, director of projects for Christo and Jeanne-Claude, told CBS News New York. This digital renaissance is positioned not just as an homage but as a historical touchstone, reflecting the effect of 'The Gates' on the city's social and cultural rehabilitation during a tough period of recovery.
More than nostalgia, this revival is educational, too, emphasizing the significant role 'The Gates' has played in shaping public art's trajectory, "the catalyst and the forerunner" of immersive installations we see today, according to Michelle Young, a professor of architecture at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; both retrospectives are honed towards a new generation while gratifying those who bear memories of the original installation—Megan Sheekey of Bloomberg Associates expressed a sentiment that is likely shared by many, "It was an incredibly meaningful project," and indeed it was because 'The Gates' not only wove vibrant fabric across a cityscape but it weaved together a community when unity was most needed, the project managed to get New Yorkers to "look up and enjoy, post 9/11" something Yavachev reminisced about in his conversation with CBS News New York.
