I know saffron, and The Gates is not saffron

thegates.jpg I’m typing this in New York City, about a block from Central Park. As some of you are no doubt aware, Christo has opened up his latest art exhibit, The Gates, in Central Park. This is how he describes it on his web site: To all visitors of The Gates: There are no official ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.
590376_1659623984_thegates2.jpg
590376_1659623984_thegates2.jpg

thegates.jpg

thegates.jpg

I’m typing this in New York City, about a block from Central Park. As some of you are no doubt aware, Christo has opened up his latest art exhibit, The Gates, in Central Park. This is how he describes it on his web site:

To all visitors of The Gates: There are no official opening events. There are no invitations. There are no tickets. This work of art is FREE for all to enjoy, the same as all our previous projects.

This is great — but ask the New York cabdrivers about this exhibit as you pass through the Park — as I did — and what you get is an impressive string of invective (to be fair, part of this is due to the exhibit shutting down some of the cross-park roads — but only part). Having seen it, I’m very amused by the headline for Michael Kimmelman’s New York Times review, “In a Saffron Ribbon, a Billowy Gift to the City.” Now, if Christo and Kimmelman want to call it “saffron,” more power to them. To me, the color of “The Gates” is not saffron — it’s safety orange. This is the biggest problem with the exhibit: approaching the Park, all you think is that the entire area must be under massive construction. It’s just a bizarre color choice, and mars what would otherwise have been an aesthetically pleasing exhibit. For a somewhat contrary take, see Virginia Postrel’s take

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

More from Foreign Policy

Residents evacuated from Shebekino and other Russian towns near the border with Ukraine are seen in a temporary shelter in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.
Residents evacuated from Shebekino and other Russian towns near the border with Ukraine are seen in a temporary shelter in Belgorod, Russia, on June 2.

Russians Are Unraveling Before Our Eyes

A wave of fresh humiliations has the Kremlin struggling to control the narrative.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shake hands in Beijing.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva shake hands in Beijing.

A BRICS Currency Could Shake the Dollar’s Dominance

De-dollarization’s moment might finally be here.

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in an episode of The Diplomat
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler in an episode of The Diplomat

Is Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’ Factual or Farcical?

A former U.S. ambassador, an Iran expert, a Libya expert, and a former U.K. Conservative Party advisor weigh in.

An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.
An illustration shows the faces of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin interrupted by wavy lines of a fragmented map of Europe and Asia.

The Battle for Eurasia

China, Russia, and their autocratic friends are leading another epic clash over the world’s largest landmass.