I think that the Gates are pretty cool. Am I allowed to say that in an art critique? Probably not, so let me explain a bit more. I first saw the gates two weekends ago on a dreary rainy day. There they were, huge pieces of bright saffron fabric, hanging at a touchable height, against a dreary gray sky. It was quite moving, as if the park was going through the motions of autumn, but this time in reverse. Wouldn’t that be great if trees turned orange before they burst into green? For that concept alone, the Gates are an astounding success.

I must also give credit for art -- abstract art at that -- that both New Yorkers and the world’s tourists have come out to see. Usually you get either one (Times Square) or the other (Chelsea). People who would not step foot in a museum came out to see the Gates, but so did the President’s wife (I would hope that she has been in a museum at some point in her life). We all like it. Maybe there is some innate human desire to want to see expansive displays of pretty colors. Maybe we all love the color orange. I know I do.

I do not know if the Gates have profoundly changed my life, but I think it is a pretty darn good idea. And heck, if it had not been there, the Gates-watchers would have not been able to save those two stupid dogs. Perhaps that rescue will help counter the lives lost from Cristof's previous works of art.