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February 20, 2005

Piss Christo II

An even more effective evisceration of Christo's gates than Podhoretz's is done through humor.

The New York Times reports that a Somerville, Massachusetts, man has installed "The Somerville Gates," which "is a 3.5-inch-high structure made of wooden dowels, cut-up roof shingles and clear corrugated plastic, all painted with orange tempera." The man is named Geoff Hargadon and, for these purposes, calls himself "Hargo."

Most important, he has his own website showing photographs of the installation and giving a comparison of his installations with Christo's in Central Park.

So, is this really "Piss Christo II"? No, says Hargo. "'The Somerville Gates' has now become, Mr. Hargadon said, 'the anti-Christo.'"

The Times article ends:

"There are no invitations," Hargo says at the Web site. "There are no tickets."

"If anyone tries to sell you a ticket, do not buy it," he continues. "The Gates are not for sale. Neither is the cat."

"Signed photos, however," he writes, "are available directly from the artist in limited editions."

There is no wind blowing these gates, no matter what the weather. So you don't have to pick your viewing date. And the Web site will stay up for a long time. The Somerville installation itself, though, is ephemeral. It goes down when "the cleaning lady comes."
Hat tip: Mrs. Attila