By Beauty Damned

How Was It?

I thought the Gates were incredible. I noticed that a few people there seemed to think that the whole thing was stupid and pointless, probably having been dragged along by someone who actually cared. Art and beauty truly do only exist in the eye of the beholder. I thought it was amazing though. I've never seen that many people in Central Park before. It was like seeing people come on a pilgrimage. I thought it was inspiring in itself that these artists were able to create something that compelled people to come and look at it. That's worth a great deal as far as art is concerned. Having striking visual experiences is important. It is what really connects you to the world around you. A bright color splashed across the landscape can definitely produce a natural high. I felt it today. Knowing that someone had created this for no purpose other than to add color to the landscape gave me a warm feeling in my belly, the same way I feel when I'm standing in a museum looking up at a mind blowing work of art, but this was almost better, because you're a part of the picture. The whole world is being invited to become a part of the picture. I kind of felt like I was in that movie Mary Poppins where they say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and then they hold hands and jump into the chalk drawings on the sidewalk. I felt like that. Like I'd jumped into a painting.

They reminded me a lot of Buddhism because of the vibrant orange color of the flags. The color of a monk's robes. The way they hung and flapped reminded me of the long silk tapestries that hang in a Buddhist temple. Maybe that was a part of the appeal for me. I definitely perceived something spiritual in it. These winding paths and hills, lined for miles and miles with these firey orange gates. Everywhere you turn, there they are. I wanted so badly to see an arial shot of the park at the moment when we arrived. Every pathway was absolutely teeming with humans. All feeling or thinking something different in relation to this thing that we were all there to see. Some people were feeling really exhalted by it all and some were feeling bored and bewildered. But they were all there traversing the paths liesurely. We zipped past people on our Heelys. It was such a great time. I loved it. I thought it was beautiful and far more inspiring than I could have imagined. Definitely lived up to my expectations.