What exactly is pseudo art?

I have always been a Christo fan and have, until now, never been lucky enough to see one up close and personal.

Your concern that it might inconvenience your riding is somewhat short-sighted. The park is for everyone and the fact that for a few weeks it will be 843 acres of conceptual art is absolutely amazing and thrilling. During a cold and dreary winter the park that we all love so much is being transformed in its entirety into a breathtaking work of art.

I think thats pretty amazing.

"The fact is that impairment of enjoyment of the park by cyclists or any other NY residents (including wildlife) by this project is not only not a good thing but it is a violation of the perpetrators' contract with the city and the parks dept. (from their own web site):

""The contract requires the artists to provide, among other terms and conditions:

-Clearance for the usual activities in the park . . .

-The people of New York will continue to use Central Park as usual.""

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After all, cyclists and joggers don't ride their bikes or jog in the MOMA's sculpture garden or MMOA's exhibit halls, to say nothing about all the other ""usual activities"" in the park (hiking, dogwalking, pushing baby strollers, Pale Male's hunting, etc.)."

"...is what I expect the Gates will be. Whether good or bad, the bases are EVERYWHERE, and there still are thousands left along the north transverse yet to be placed. The Park will be transformed -- even now their presence is unavoidable.

1. The timing is good, the park is not flowering, with the bare trees, the gates will make an even greater impression on the public. It could be viewed as a preliminary spring, or a second autumn.

2. This time of year, the park only brings the dedicated users. Visitors to the park will come specifically to see the Gates. Depending on the numbers, this event could become a ""happening""

3. There is a VERY good chance of Significant snow accumulations for a couple of days. That with the Gates will transform the effect visually.

4. The renderings I had seen of the gates gave me the impression that the color of the fabric was the Burnt orange of a construction zone. That color to me, would suck. However, I spoke with one of the workmen yesterday, and he says that the colors will change with the ambient light, and that the predominate color will be Golden. If that is the case, that color is more organic to the natural beauty of Central Park -- and that I have hopes will be pleasing. While sensation of the visual senses will predominate, the other sense could also be stimulated in a pleasing manner.

5. While I have never been to Berlin, the covering of the Reichstag generated tremendous discussion everywhere. Is this not the role of Art -- to promote thought, discussion, even controversy? Art that is ignored is perhaps not Art.

6. I have never been, nor attempted to pretend to be, an Art Major"

Just a short hello to my NYCC friends. I am now living in Pittsburgh and doing my Zen-like best to find good cycling in this twisty-hilly-bikerunfriendly town. I miss all of you. Please send my regards in particular to Jack, Bob, and Ed. (You know who you are.)

"1. Somebody suggested that all the hotels and restaurants are booked during the installation. All? ALL??? Does that include the little Turkish restaurant on 2nd Avenue near 71st? The Chinese chicken joint on West 36th Street? The Old Homestead down in the meat market? Which restaurants? How does he know? Which hotels? This is all total baloney -- hyped factoid on toast.

2. The suggestion that the Christo ""installation"" will probably attract lots of tourists is, however, true. So would a public guillotining. I like the guillotine idea better. In keeping with the old French tradition of guillotining the rulers, I suggest that Mayor Bloomberg go guillotine himself.

3. Somebody sought to calm us nervous nature beasts by reassuring us that even though the wraps will be Prison Jumpsuit Orange, they will actually look more golden much of the time. Oh goody! Will that be urine golden, Craola golden or metaphoric golden? Personally, I would feel a lot less disturbed if they would do a pale blue. And don't argue with me. De gustibus non disputendum est, to quote an Ancient Roman who might have visited Montenegro.

4. Christo makes an effing fortune selling drawings of his, err, installations. Once again, we have an example of someone making a mockery of the intent of the park designers for personal gain. We didn't have this in Montenegro when Marshal Tito was running Yugoslavia. No sirree!

5. I do, however, like the promise that Christo's rag show is only temporary and will be taken down after a few weeks. Central Park is littered with permanent ""art"" that offends the original concept of the park as a green escape from the insanity of the city, decorated with things that tend to grow naturally, such as trees. So while we're taking down Christo's ""art,"" could we please also take down...

--The huge ugly statue of Daniel Webster and his cockamayme speech about ""now and forever..."" yadda and dada. Was Webster a better speech maker than Lincoln? Than Roosevelt? Than Kennedy? Shouldn't we have a road block full of statuary of political speech makers crossing the East Drive?

--The entire so-called ""Poet's Corner"" on the south end of the Park, most especially those statues of second rate 19th Century poets who are deservedly long-forgotten, except for the bronze tonnage that represents them. What is Sir Walter Scott doing among them? He was a trash novelist. Oh, and also take down Robert Burns from that same section. If we must have a poet whose work has actually lasted more than a Century, how about an American poet like Walt Whitman? You prefer e.e. cummings once his centennial arrives? Well there you go! Once you start with ""art"" there's no stopping it from eating everybody's lunch as we try being fair to everybody who has an artistic ax to grind.

--Balto the whatchamacallit dog who got something or other through to somewhere or other in Alaska and is now celebrated with a statue. Personally, I'd rather see a great dane lifting his leg to a length of Christo fabric. Now there's an installation worth having around for a couple of weeks.

--The Alice In Wonderland thingum north of the sailboat pond on the East Side of the Park. What's the matter with those park people? Don't they know Lewis Carrol was a latent pederast who took nude photographs of little girls and carried safety pins around in his pockets to pin up their skirts as they (with his urging and encouragement) waded across streams? And that he never had an intimate relationship with an adult women (although he tried to curry favor from Queen Victoria, who was out of reach anyway.) And children actually play on this Alice thing -- the biggest monument to child molestation in the history of the planet!

--Fred LeBow, whose statue got inserted into a bunch of bushes up in the East 90s, most probably by the New York Road Runners special interest lobby. First of all, Fred looks as if he's about to jump out of the b"

"Noting Etoain's rant about the Alice statue in the park and the notes regarding its author, Lewis Carroll was, in fact, the Rev. Charles Ludwig Dodson. (Hmm, maybe it was Dodgson.) (Reverse ""Charles Ludwig"" and Latinate it to get to Lewis Carroll.) Not only was he a minister, he was also a noted mathematician.

Queen Victoria was so enchanted by ""Through the Looking Glass,"" or whichever was Carroll's first ""Alice"" book, that she bid him to dedicate his next book to her. He dutifully did. It is dedicated ""To my Queen."" It is a book of trigonometric functions."

What is the silliest argument posted to this thread?:

1) Christo should not be allowed to wrap Central Park because it will inconvenience those who are training for the SIG

2) Christo is spending 20 million dollars wrapping Central Park so he can sell more postcards.

3) Art only belongs in museums.

4) Being an art major or art school graduate makes your opinion of Christo's wrap more valid.

5) The slippery slope: Today it's Christo, tomorrow it's Disney.

6) Lewis Carroll was a pederast.

Feel free to nominate any thing I missed