GUEST: This tarp is a piece from the Christo and Jeanne-Claude exhibition "The Gates" from Central Park in New York City. And this covering was used in the preparation and unveiling of the exhibition. One by one, they took these tarps off and released these curtains down. So this is one of the tarps.
APPRAISER: And I think the big thing that we're leaving out is, who's in this photo right here? (laughs)
GUEST: Yeah, so, uh... (laughing) So I was there, so I was following a work crew, and I asked them, "Hey, can I open one?" And they gave me the pole, and unzipped this tarp. And afterwards, I was, like, "Is this something that I could keep as a memento and, and take this home?" And they said, "Yeah, just, just take it home with you." And I've had it ever since.
APPRAISER: I think that is absolutely incredible. And especially, being an art nerd, not only are you someone who got to witness this and see it at the time in New York in 2005, but you actually lived it.
GUEST: That's right. It was my mom's birthday, and she's a huge Christo fan. And we went and we had this wonderful opportunity to do this all together, so...
APPRAISER: When it comes to land installations, the first names that come to mind always for me are Christo and Jeanne-Claude. They did "Surrounded Islands," the "Floating Piers." They even covered the Arc de Triomphe. And "The Gates" is right there, up there in their bodies of work, of being one of the most notable. Even though this was first open to the public in February of 2005, there was a long road of getting there. Christo and Jeanne-Claude first proposed to the city back in 1979, they were pushing to get this done. It wasn't until 2004 they were able to start the installation. Now, what did you refer to this wrap?
GUEST: I believe they called it, like, a cocoon. It was, like, the covering, the thing that the, the, the exhibition emerged from.
APPRAISER: When the installation first opened up on February 12, there were 7,503 gates through Central Park, spanning 23 miles. I wish I could have been there to live it. I am so jealous of you right now. I want to vicariously live through you.
GUEST: Yeah.
APPRAISER: There's over 5,000 tons of steel, over 300,000 feet of, uh, vinyl tubing and fabric. It's just incredible, the organization and the work that goes into every one of their installations. Now, the actual gates themselves were this lighter nylon fabric that was made to flow in the wind. This is a heavier vinyl that was made as the protective element for the installation during transportation. Now, we have it rolled up on the table because it is such a large piece of, uh, vinyl fabric here. But do you know the dimensions of when you have it in your home?
GUEST: I think it's marked with 14 foot, three inches, something like that.
APPRAISER: Because it is the cocoon, it is part of the process. It adds the performative element to the installation. Conservatively, at auction, for a cocoon vinyl-wrapped covering, we feel it would be in the $2,000 to $3,000 range at auction.
GUEST: Wow, yeah, that's amazing. Uh, I just, I, I find it hard to believe, almost, uh, like... It, it's just been, you know, in my apartment kind of kicking around.
