Umbrella art installation california. Twenty five years ago this fall the hills of kern county became the focus of the international art community with the temporary installation of over a thousand giant yellow umbrellas along the grapevine. Those umbrellas were part of an international art project by the husband and wife team of christo and jeanne claude spanning two continents eight years of planning and costing 26 million. Starting in december 1990 with a total work force of 500 muto construction co.
All 3100 umbrellas were assembled in bakersfield california from where the 1340 blue umbrellas were shipped to japan. In ibaraki and a. Huber son in california installed the earth anchors and steel bases under the supervision of site managers akira kato in japan and vince davenport in the usa.
This japan usa temporary work of art reflected the similarities and differences in the ways of life and the use of. Christo created ephemeral projects across the globe. At sunrise on october 9 1991 christo and jeanne claudes 1880 workers began to open the 3100 umbrellas in ibaraki and california in the presence of the artists at both sites.
In ibaraki and a. Starting in december 1990 with a total work force of 500 muto construction co. Now two decades later while the umbrellas are long gone the event remains fresh in the minds of many.
Huber son in california installed the earth anchors and steel bases under the supervision of site managers akira kato in japan and vince davenport in the usa.