I have two short thoughts:

1. "The Gates" - in whatever magic they cast over Central Park have provoked
a major case of "pleasure anxiety." Wherein many - instead of reveling for a
moment in the experience of participating in and enjoying public space - are
driven to badmouth all of its derivative side effects (commerce, egos, etc.)
It's like being totally smitten with a lover's perfume and then parting the
scene to go kill the perfume seller - the "betrayed virgin" syndrome. (I am
not being righteous here - it's happened to me more than once).

2. Like "The Gates" or not, it's provoking lots of analysis of what may be
better to wrap, better to draw attention to, Fallujeh, etc. This is no small
accomplishment - akin to poets who have written seminal works that have
stirred generations of writing, as say, Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, the
New York School. Of course, different than the Christo project, it seems,
instead of in opposition to what was Wrapped, the acolyte poets, if not
imitating Olson, etc., the work by others could be seen as an extension or
expansion of the work of the progenitors.

Sorry, maybe these thoughts were not so short!

Stephen V
Blog: http://stephenvincent.durationpress.com



> Of course, it wouldn't get the 'press,' but just the drawings, etc.,
> the plans, without the actual work, would maybe be good. And I do like
> the idea of going somewhere to enhance what really needs it, Mark. I
> mean, it would be something to see them draping Fallujah....
>
> Doug
> On 1-Mar-05, at 3:30 PM, Mark Weiss wrote:
>
>> May you be a model of humility. I think they wouldn't get it.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>> At 05:19 PM 3/1/2005, you wrote:
>>>> How about not "enhancing"--or piggybacking--on the allure of the
>>> already
>>>> wondrous and instead draping a landfill, or a favela, so as to
>>> create
>>>> beauty, and economic advantage, where few see either? Would that be
>>> too big
>>>> an imaginative leap for the happy pair, or would they be in danger
>>> of not
>>>> making as much money or as many headlines? How about draping an oil
>>> field?
>>>> Or a lifeless river? Or a battlefield? There are plenty to choose
>>> from.
>>>>
>>>> Mark
>>> en·hance (e—n-ha—ns')
>>> tr.v., -hanced, -hanc·ing, -hanc·es.
>>>
>>> 1. To make greater, as in value, beauty, or effectiveness; augment.
>>>
>>> I am sorry Mark but I must shy from evening consider the largeness of
>>> your
>>> vision of potential globally enhanced works - I am afraid I am back
>>> into the
>>> beauty of small things. WCW's plums in the fridge are so worn out from
>>> appearing in standard American Literature Anthologies, I have wrapped
>>> them
>>> over their white saucer in a slightly foggy Saran wrap - just enough
>>> to let
>>> the eye know they are still plums. People who come to my fridge
>>> compare this
>>> enviormental act of bringing a great poem back down to size as
>>> comparable to
>>> German trade shops who sold Indigo to Napoleon's soldiers with which
>>> to dye
>>> their white uniforms. The use of the dark dye helped reduce the sight
>>> of
>>> demoralizing blood stains from battles in which their comrades had
>>> been
>>> lost.
>>>
>>> I and my plums have yet to receive a visit from the lawyers of the WCW
>>> estate.
>>>
>>> Stephen V
>>> Blog: http://stephenvincent.durationpress.com
>>
>>
>
>
> Douglas Barbour
> Department of English
> University of Alberta
> Edmonton Alberta T6G 2E5 Canada
> (780) 436 3320
> http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/dbhome.htm
>
> care to be more
> precise about whatever
> it is you are
> saying, I said
>
> Bill Manhire