Christo's Gates in NYC Central Park - Art Story? Not to Shepard Smith.
Reported by Ellen - February 14, 2005
Around halfway through Studio B, Shepard Smith sits down with Jane Skinner and they discuss a variety of issues. Today they spoke about the 'Orange Gates' that were put up in Central Park and will remain there for a couple of weeks. They showed pictures of miles of orange gates that looked like strips of fabric hanging from a frame.
I watched them speak about this and Smith said he was just a 'red neck' and he didn't get it. If Smith, the purported 'red neck', would have watched all of the extensive news reports put out lately, he would have found out that this was an exhibit by the famous conceptual artist, Christo.
Only once did Skinner refer to these orange (though she called the color, saffron) gates as 'art'.
Nowhere in the report did they say what the art was supposed to represent or who the artist was- Smith just kept saying he didn't get it. The typical Fox viewer might like to hear the story behind these 'saffron gates', "Why didn't Shep explain that the gates are part of an unusual art exhibit by Cristo?
Comment: If you're going to do a story on something, please research it a little, people might be interested to know the art and the artist behind these saffron gates. To say that they cost 20 million dollars of private funds and that they are orange and show some pictures does not give the whole story. Smith didn't get it? Neither did his viewers.
To learn more about this exhibit, you can read about it in yesterday's Washington Post.
Reported by: Donna
