Sloth Rewarded

The story of how we got to see Gates anyway...This morning, as we built our own Gates and thought regretfully of how we could have been in NYC and seen the real thing, I decided that at least we would see the Somerville Gates. So I emailed the artist himself, offering him a place on our trip to the World Cup in Germany next year in return for a chance to view his tiny orange Gates. He emailed straight back with an invitation to have a private, personalised viewing of The Gates. All we had to do was turn up at the coffee shop where he was meeting a friend anyway. Excited beyond belief, eager to salvage the day, the three of us threw on orange clothing and ran down the street to the S----- Cafe. And there was Hargo, immediately obvious in a bright Orange Holland football shirt, spooning down a cup of--you guessed it--orange carrot soup. He pulled out a narrow briefcase, and out popped 11 of the original 13 gates, neat little structures made of bright orange cardboard and glue. He arranged them carefully on the table...and well it was art. He said he was surprised but not averse to the fame his little "toys" had brought him. Click here to see us with Hargo. How glad glad glad we are that we didn't go to New York. Next time I will make a point of meeting Christo.