The Torii at Central Park

With only three days until Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" is unfurled in Manhattan's Central Park, web pages devoted to the undertaking are popping up over the internet, among them The Gates @ Central Park and jok/kaz, a daily weblog of two people working on the project.



While I couldn't find anything on Christo and Jeanne-Claude's website regarding any inspiration behind the work, my girlfriend Karen pointed out the striking similarity between The Gates and the Fushimi-Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan. Each is a repeated post-and-beam frame along curving paths, painted orange, and tightly-spaced.



See for yourself:





Image by Scott Surbeck





Karen in Kyoto



Granted that the flags, once installed, will set apart The Gates from the Torii, but nevertheless the similarities are striking.