We just came back from seeing Jean-Claude and Christo’s Gates in Central Park.

Wow.

The bright winter sun shone through the orange sheets. They fluttered and billowed in the wind. Their reflection shimmered in the melting snow puddles. Central Park was a new place. The white snow, the trees black with the melting snow, and the winding orange paths.

You could visit the Gates ten times in one day and have a different experience as the light and the weather changed.

The kids ran down the park paths. I ran ahead shooting pictures as fast as I could.

The Gates are the most important public art in New York City in years. Art has been the topic of conversation for the past week.

My sister laughed at all the nicknames that have been given to this exhibition. Shmatas on a Stick. Sheets in the Wind.

Toni wondered whether anyone should spend $20 million dollars on art when there was hunger in the world.

And Susan marvelled at the lack of corporate sponsorship signs and that everyone can experience art without a $20 admission fee or a long line.

This conversation and interest is fantastic. Other cities, like Chicago, have massive pieces of public art by Picasso and Chagall. New York City has always been lacking in public art, perhaps because the whole city is itself art. Instead, art is housed within hidden galleries and fortress-like museums.

The Gates is available to everyone. Its size and simplicity evoke immediate response. Millions of people looked at the park through new eyes.

Today, we ran through art on a warm winter day.