“Your contribution? It built our swimming pool.”

NPR’s “Morning Edition” this morning interviewed wrap-everything-in-plastic artist Christo and his partner, Jeanne-Claude. Topic? How voluntary contributions pay for their art. Oh, and their chalet.

Don’t tell Karl Rove or any other red-white-and-blue-blooded inauguralist, but this French artist duo getting ready to swathe Central Park in saffron-orange torii gates have a very lax attitude about how to spend the money they make from pre-selling drawings of their art:

“It’s my money,” Christo said, apparently peeved the friendly NPR reporter questioned how much of the pre-sold profits actually go into carrying out the next installation. “Mine. I could build a chalet in Aspen, I could build a castle.” Rushing to elaborate, Jeanne-Claude said that the new house they’re building won’t cost more than $21 million. “I hope not,” she said.

The thousands of Gates go up in the Park at sunrise on Feb. 12th and stay there for 16 days.

Just enough time to finish that indoor swimming pool.

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