At least you don't have to freeze your tail off to see these gates

BOSTON - "The Gates," a public design project in New York's Central Park by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, is giant, "saffron colored" and cost $20 million.

"The Somerville Gates," by financial adviser Geoff Hargadon, is tiny, orange and cost $3.50.

Hargadon said his project wasn't intended to mock the Central Park installation, which he visited last week and enjoyed. His target was the hype that's surrounded "The Gates" — a collection of 7,500 pieces of fabric attached to 16-foot frames spread across 23 miles of Central Park footpaths.

A review calling "The Gates" the first great public art creation of the 21st century pushed Hargadon over the edge and inspired him to do his own project.

"Somerville" is not the only parody of the Central Park project — "The Crackers," for example, is a line of 36 orange cheese and peanut butter crackers. But "Somerville" is the best known.

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