Christo to Unfurl Details of ‘Umbrellas’

CalArts in Valencia will offer a public lecture Tuesday by Christo, the internationally known artist, who plans to install hundreds of giant yellow umbrellas in the hills above Gorman in the fall of 1991.

As part of “The Umbrellas: A Joint Project for Japan and the U.S.A.,” Christo will place 1,700 umbrellas, each 28 1/2 feet in diameter, along both sides of the Golden State Freeway for 18 miles. About 1,300 blue umbrellas will be simultaneously planted along 12 miles of rural land in the Ibaraki province of Japan.

Tuesday’s lecture will include slides of the project and a documentary film on Christo’s 1983 work, “Surrounded Islands,” in which he wrapped 11 islands off the Florida coast in 6 million square feet of hot-pink polypropylene fabric. Christo is also known for “Running Fence,” the shimmering cloth fence that ran 24 1/2 miles across Northern California fields to the sea.

The free lecture begins at 7 p.m. in CalArts’ Main Gallery. Applications will be available for those seeking to join the work force of 1,500 paid assistants needed to install and guard the umbrella project and give tours.