Posted 1 year ago
Belltown
(152 items)
In 1991, I was fortunate enough to edit a story by my pal Jeff Book about Christo's Umbrellas project in Southern California (yellow) and Japan (blue).
We met Christo and his wife and collaborator, Jeanne-Claude, at Tejon Ranch, where the SoCal portion of the project was being readied for installation. After Jeff asked his questions and I snapped a roll of slides, we drove around the hills with Christo as he pointed out sites where his 1,700 or so Umbrellas would be placed.
After the Umbrellas were finally opened, we took our kids and my aunt to see them. If I recall correctly, our oldest son (then 4) was stung by a yellow jacket, but the 15-to-20-foot wide Umbrellas made an impression on him. A few weeks later, when winds blew over one of the Umbrellas, killing a spectator, our son sent Christo a drawing of one of his Umbrellas behind a wall, so people could view them safely. Some time after that, Christo reciprocated with a nice note and an envelope full of signed postcards of various projects.
If These Shirts Could Talk: The Tantalizing Tales Behind Used Clothes
Jockeying for Position: How Boxers and Briefs Got Into Men's Pants
Gloriously Grotesque 19th-Century Pipes
In the Hot Seat: Is Your Antique Windsor a Fake?
Love at First Kite: How Pizza and Pente Led to One Oklahoman's High-Flying Obsession
Blood, Sweat, and Steel: My Afternoon with the Ace of Swords
'The Great Gatsby' Still Gets Flappers Wrong
Say Ahhh: An Oral Surgeon's Quest to Reimagine the Garage-Band Guitar
Forget TV Pickers, Meet the Real Mavericks of the Antiques World
Coveting The Craziest Cat-People Collectibles


Thanks for sharing these and your memories of the great artist!
What a great memory. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, thanks for sharing!
Great story, I love the letter your child sent..I am sure that cheered Christo up. The young are great healers!! Mich