I live in the city that never sleeps, fueled by coffee, continuous wailing of sirens and walking dangerously close to yellow cabs. Whereas most people like the look of New York, I find it relatively ugly. And the Gates in Central Park are great.
Make no mistake, I am not an architect or designer. I lived in Tokyo for 4 years and the drab, grey, plain, conformist architecture there is nothing to write home about. Coming to New York, with its character and grit was a pleasureable change (I miss the modern plumbing from Tokyo though). I liked the scaly ceilings in the subway, the dusty eaves on old buildings, the high rises art decoing the skyline. Over time, you stop looking up. Only tourists in New York look up. And so all I see now are the potholes, the cracks, the grime and the garbage. I dodge the little lakes that form on the corners when the rain falls or snow melts. I use the shadows of approaching people or taxicabs to wind my way though the city.
Central Park is a breath of fresh air in the grey city. Although in winter, its grey too. So when they put the orange gates up, it brightened up the whole place. Now the grey drab park looks alive (or like a big construction zone according to Mrs Hiltmon). The flapping skirts bring the place to life, the wandering hordes forming rivers of movement beneath the rolling winds, small children perched on daddys shoulders reaching to grab a handful of colour. It gives me something to look at, to photograph, to talk about, to show off to those unfortunate enough not to be here.
And something to argue about with the legions of whiners and ignoramuses. They complain that the city should never have spent the money on The Gates, not knowing that the city did not pay for it. They complain that they do not understand it, and are unaware of how stupid they are acting (it takes 5 minutes to read about it in any newspaper). They complain about the waste of materials, not knowing that all materials are going to be recycled. They complain, they complain, they complain.
Come on people, put the latte down and just look at The Gates. Orange gates line the park like worms, the skirts wave and crash like waves and it makes people happy, it brightens up the grey city.
No one got hurt by the Gates, I for one love them.
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