The Somerville Gates

The Gates in New York's central Park have stirred up a fair degree of controversy, not so much by the art work but by Christo's publisher who claimed a vast new degree of copyright and trademark protection. Robert Lederman wrote an article in Infoshop News - Christo: Another greedy corporate artist which discussed the issues, including the claim that they had copyrighted the words, 'The Gates' and a suggestion that 'all of Central Park is now private property'.

Perhaps getting people to accept this situation was in fact a major part of the art.

However, Richard Lederman made an open-ended suggestion to all artists, creative people, writers, parodists and pranksters, whereby under the Fair Use doctrine of First Amendment and copyright law ; that it was time for all who love free speech to freely express their own satirical and critical views on The Gates.

This call followed the publication of work by the artist Hargo, of Somerville, Massachusetts, entitled The Somerville Gates," and unveiled on his web site after a day-long installation in the artist's apartment.

Hargo's "The Somerville Gates" were immediately compared with Christo's "The Gates", Central Park, New York City, or was it the other way round? Anyway, art lovers now have the opportunity to acquire one of the original Somervillegates and a landmark in 21st century art, at the MassArt's 16th Annual Benefit Art Auction on Friday April 8, 2005.