Billy Klüver (E.A.T. organizer) — Pepsi Pavilion at Osaka Expo '70

1970

Artists: Billy Klüver (E.A.T. organizer), Robert Whitman (lead artist), David Tudor (composer), Robert Breer (sculpture), Forrest Myers (sculpture) · Year: 1970 · Medium: Full-scale architectural pavilion — immersive light-sound-fog environment with mobile sculptures · Substrate: Mylar-mirror spherical interior; water-vapor fog system enveloping the building exterior; mobile sculpture fleet; programmed lighting and sound systems · Place: Osaka, Japan · Institution: Experiments in Art and Technology (E.A.T.); commissioned by PepsiCo The Pepsi Pavilion at Osaka Expo '70 was E.A.T.'s largest production: a commissioned pavilion for Pepsi-Cola at the 1970 World Expo in Japan, designed and built by Billy Klüver, Robert Whitman, and a team of approximately seventy-five artists and engineers. The pavilion's exterior was continuously enveloped by a water-vapor fog generated by a cloud-producing machine designed by Fujiko Nakaya; the interior consisted of a ninety-foot spherical Mylar mirror that produced extraordinary optical phenomena for visitors. Robert Breer's fleet of seven slow-moving mobile sculptures patrolled the pavilion's plaza. David Tudor composed the interactive sound environment. The Pavilion is the most ambitious single project E.A.T. ever attempted. It ran for the duration of the six-month Expo, hosted millions of visitors, and was — by any scale — the field's largest public installation to date. Its production involved continuous collaboration between artists and engineers across multiple disciplines; its operation required ongoing technical maintenance that E.A.T. staff provided throughout the run. The Pavilion was also the point at which the early E.A.T. project reached its institutional peak. Klüver continued producing collaborations through the 1970s, but the Pepsi Pavilion remained the benchmark against which subsequent E.A.T. productions were measured. Nakaya's fog-cloud work became a major career-making contribution; her subsequent Fog Sculptures have been installed at museums worldwide. The Pavilion was dismantled at the close of Expo '70; its archival record is held by Klüver's estate and by several collaborators. Lore Klüver and Whitman spent approximately eighteen months on the Pavilion's design and construction, with a team that expanded to seventy-five at peak. Pepsi's corporate backers eventually disputed several of the pavilion's design choices; E.A.T.'s relationship with Pepsi deteriorated during operation. Klüver's 1972 book Pavilion (with Barbara Rose) documents the production in detail. Fujiko Nakaya's fog sculpture has been installed at the Guggenheim Bilbao, Glass House, and dozens of other venues in the decades since. Sources • Klüver, Billy; Martin, Julie; Rose, Barbara — Pavilion (E.P. Dutton, 1972) • Daniel Langlois Foundation — Pepsi Pavilion documentation • Osaka Expo '70 archive