The Umbrellas: Japan-USA Reviews

The Umbrellas: Japan-USA

Christo and Jeanne-Claude's Umbrella Project in 1991 was the most ambitious and expensive project they have ever undertaken. 1340 blue six metre umbrellas were assembled and erected throughout a narrow valley in rural Japan. 7000 yellow umbrellas were similarly prepared across the Pacific in a dry expanse of Californian land. After months of gruelling process, the two countries united as the forest of umbrellas were opened simultaneously on both continents.

The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have famously tied up Berlin's Reichstag with miles of silvery fabric, wrapped the Pont Neuf in Paris, and circled the islands in Biscayne Bay with flamingo pink fabric. Each project may only be on view a short time, but each is the result of years of planning, scouting, wrangling with local permitting agencies, and documenting the whole process. The sale of drawings and notes finances the enterprise. The Umbrellas: Japan-USA contains two volumes of documentation for a project to install and then open 3,100 umbrellas (nearly 20 feet high and over 28 feet wide when unfurled) in two countries in the fall of 1991. Volume one is filled with maps, sketches, diagrams of the specially designed umbrellas, and black-and-white photographs of the artists on location meeting with officials and landowners whose property would be used for the installation. In volume two, the project comes to gorgeous fruition. Hundreds of color photographs of azure blue umbrellas in Japan and sunflower yellow ones in California fill the book. (Full-page swatches of the actual fabric show the intensity of the colors.) We begin to understand the monumental scope of the project in photographs taken from all angles: aerial shots with a long view, views from underneath, forests of umbrellas in rice paddies and running for miles along the California highway. Only 2,500 copies of this special collector's edition exist, each signed and numbered by the artists.

List Price: $ 200.00

Price: $ 200.00

Square Perfect Professional Quality Photography Studio Lighting Umbrella Soft Light Kit

• (2) Silver/Black Umbrellas
• (2) Standard Umbrellas
• (2) Light brackets with Umbrella Holders
• (3) Premium Grade Synch Flashes (45 w/s)
• (3) Premium Light Stands

This is our ultimate umbrella set! It offers the exceptional quality that you have come to expect from Square Perfect, qualities such as the thick nylon durable construction of our umbrellas and the extra large footprint offered by our light stands, plus the incredible convenience and portability of this package. The beauty about this set is the ease and simplicity of use. It is not only one of our most cost effective flash set-ups, the quality is unmatched in the industry. With 3 45w/sFlashes, you will be taking professional photos in minutes. With the built-in slave, the flashes automatically fire as soon as it sees the first one--this isaccomplishedby the use of built in Optical slaves. This umbrella set will capture soft light and spread it over a large area, giving you maximum control over staging. Quick release levers help to make set up and tear down take just minutes. (2) Silver/Black Umbrellas (2) Standard Umbrellas (3) Light brackets with Umbrella Holders (3) Premium Grade Synch Flashes (45 w/s) (3) Premium Light Stands

List Price: $ 299.95

Price: $ 96.95

*Prices may change at any