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'Internationally lauded “explosives artist” Cai Guo-Qiang has already amassed some stunning stats: He may be the only artist in human history who has had some one billion people gaze simultaneously at one of his artworks. You read that right, one billion. I’m talking about the worldwide televised “fireworks sculpture” that Cai Guo-Qiang—China-born, living in America now—created for the opening of the Beijing Olympics in 2008. If you’re one of the few earthlings who hasn’t seen it, either live or online, here’s Cai’s description: “The explosion event consisted of a series of 29 giant footprint fireworks, one for each Olympiad, over the Beijing skyline, leading to the National Olympic Stadium. The 29 footprints were fired in succession, traveling a total distance of 15 kilometers, or 9.3 miles, within a period of 63 seconds.”
'But a mere billion pairs of eyes is not enough for Cai’s ambition. He’s seeking additional viewers for his works, some of whom may have more than two eyes. I’m speaking of the aliens, the extraterrestrials that Cai tells me are the real target audience for his most monumental explosive works. Huge flaming earth sculptures like Project to Extend the Great Wall of China by 10,000 Meters, in which Cai detonated a spectacular six-mile train of explosives, a fiery elongation of the Ming dynasty’s most famous work. Meant to be seen from space: He wants to open “a dialogue with the universe,” he says. Or his blazing “crop circle” in Germany, modeled on those supposed extraterrestrial “signs” carved in wheat fields—a project that called for 90 kilograms of gunpowder, 1,300 meters of fuses, one seismograph, an electroencephalograph and an electrocardiograph. The two medical devices were there to measure Cai’s physiological and mental reactions as he stood in the center of the explosions, to symbolize, he told me, that the echoes of the birth of the universe can still be felt in every molecule of every human cell.
'As a youth, he says, “I was unconsciously exposed to the ties between fireworks and the fate of humans, from the Chinese practice of setting off firecrackers at a birth, a death, a wedding.” He sensed something in the fusion of matter and energy, perhaps a metaphor for mind and matter, humans and the universe, at the white-hot heart of an explosion. By the time of the political explosion of Tiananmen Square in 1989, Cai had left China and was in Japan, where “I discovered Western physics and astrophysics.” And Hiroshima.
'The revelation to him about Western physics, especially the subatomic and the cosmological Big Bang levels, was that it was somehow familiar. “My Taoist upbringing in China was very influential, but not until I got to Japan did I realize all these new developments in physics were quite close to Chinese Qi Gong cosmology. The new knowledge of astrophysics opened a window for me,” he says. The window between the mystical, metaphorical, metaphysical concepts of Taoism—the infinity of mind within us and that of the physical universe whose seemingly infinite dimensions outside us were being mapped by astrophysicists. For example, he says, “The theory of yin and yang is paralleled in modern astrophysics as matter and antimatter, and, in electromagnetism, the plus and minus.”
'Maybe there’s the sly wink of a showman behind these interspatial aspirations, but Cai seems to me to be distinctive among the current crop of international art stars in producing projects that aren’t about irony, or being ironic about irony, or being ironic about art about irony. He really wants to paint the heavens like Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Only with gunpowder and flame.' -- The Smithsonian
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Stills
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Further
Cai Guo-Qiang Website
Video: Cail Guo-Qiang @ PBS
'Why Cai Guo-Qiang Is Good For China And Bad For Art'
'Meet the Artist Who Blows Things Up for a Living'
Cai Guo-Qiang Studio Blog
Cai Guo-Qiang @ Facebook
'Contextualizing Cai Guo-Qiang'
'Cai Guo-Qiang Explodes Onto Soho Real Estate Scene'
'Playing with fire'
'Cai Guo-Qiang, Move Along, Nothing to See Here'
'An Encounter With Cai Guo-Qiang, The World’s Foremost Explosion Artist'
'Gunpowder Plots'
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Extras
Cai Guo-Qiang Explosion Work
'Body Scan': 2013 Cai Guo-Qiang Interview
Cai Guo-Qiang: Desire for Zero Gravity
Cai Guo-Qiang at Guggenheim Museum New York
cai guo-qiang with wu yulu: robot imitating damien hirst
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Interview
from Cool Blog English
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Where do you find themes for your works?
Cai Guo-Qiang: After the 9/11 attack in New York, my themes and works has been quite diverse. For example, I made the rainbow of fireworks above the East River and expressed the colorfulness of the city. I also made the black rainbow under the daylight, whose theme was to express the dismay of the modern society. The pieces with cars inspired me to produce pieces about terrorist attacks.
You have works which have concepts of Feng Shui. Do you arrange your studio according to Feng Shui?
Cai Guo-Qiang: Absolutely. Feng Shui is the first priotiry when choosing studios. Even after choosing the studio, I rely on Feng Shui where to place Buddha and other stuff. I placed the Lion Rock between doors. I have many female staffs, and when they complained that they were too busy with work to date, I placed some stuff that would bring opportunities to meet great matches. I also made a Japanese-style garden in the studio. At exhibitions at local towns, Feng Shui represents the energies of the culture, people's history, and space of the town. The life energy "Qi" is an invisible energy. I develop ideas and work on my pieces, taking that energy highly into consideration. I don’t always express like “This is Feng Shui” in my works directly, but when I am working, I am conscious of Feng Shui in an invisible way, like aesthetically.
Upon the production of your works in which you use gunpowder, you invented the technique to control the altitude of explosions of fireworks by putting microchips into firework balls. How did the invention affect your work after adopting microchips?
Cai Guo-Qiang: First, it had been said that using gunpowder was dangerous. Until I started developing the technique of built-in microchips around 2001, all the fireworks were exploded by fuse and the timing of explosions were calculated by the length of fuse. Since fuse was made by hand, it was very difficult to fix the shape and order of explosions of fireworks. But if you use fireworks with built-in microchips, the altitudes and timing of explosions are already calculated.For instance, it is like 2000 people who have tickets get seated exactly in their right seats. I can control the altitude and timing of the explosions of 2000 fireworks. However, there are a good thing and a bad thing about introducing microchips. The good thing is that now I can use the sky as canvas. The bad thing is that they are expensive. I feel pressured in many aspects because huge amount of money is spent on few dozens of seconds of art. That is, promoters try to gather many people to see that expensive piece of art by using the media. The pressure gets even more intense when thousands of people come to see the few dozen seconds of art. That kind of pressure is basically nothing to do with arts, though. Now that I can collect funds and attract people for my work, but I still feel apprehensive if that something in the sky was an art and that the piece was really an artistic piece.
When do you feel the excitement while working?
Cai Guo-Qiang: All the time. I always joke that making pieces is the same thing as having sex (laughs). Even when you fail, you can't start over again. Each time is the last time, and you never know if it will end up good or bad if you don't try. But when I finish working, all I feel is a joy. No matter good or bad. I always feel delighted and happy after completing my works.
What is an art for you?
Cai Guo-Qiang: An art is what I do. Through the artistic eyes, everything in the world, from election campaigns of politicians or constructions on the streets, can look as arts.
If you were not an artist, what do you think you would be doing?
Cai Guo-Qiang: I can't imagine. I can't see myself being anything but an artist. Sometimes I myself think that I am good at making artistic pieces, but I am not that good at anything else.
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Show
Mystery Circle, MOCA Los Angeles, 2012
'Wait -- he’s shooting the fireworks at us? That was the general worry Saturday night as Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang readied his explosion show outside the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. After all, fireworks should go up, vertical, away from people -- not toward them. But Cai didn’t get his reputation as a world-renowned pyro-wiz by doing what’s expected. “Mystery Circle,” Saturday’s event, would be no exception. Around 7:40 p.m., the sky rapidly darkening, the two-minute warning was given, then it was one minute, 30 seconds, 10 seconds, a spirited countdown -- and boom. Some 40,000 rockets, arranged on the northern wall of the Geffen Contemporary in a crop circle-like pattern, exploded outward in a massive display of light, heat and sound.'-- LA Times
Black Ceremony, Hiroshima, 2008
'The City of Hiroshima has selected the winner of the 7th Hiroshima Art Prize, contemporary artist Mr. Cai Guo-Qiang (born 1957 in Fujian Province, China, currently resident in New York). Cai Guo-Qiang has created a great number of pieces that are not only based on a unique vision of the universe rooted in traditional Chinese culture and thought but his art offers a penetrating view of human history and civilization. In his outdoor project in Hiroshima, both a celebration of the rebirth of Hiroshima and a requiem, Cai was able to use his personal methodology of using gunpowder to raise questions regarding not only the historical significance of Hiroshima but also the physical phenomenon of the A-bomb.'-- city.hiroshima.jp
Tornado, Washington, D.C., 2005
'Washington will be treated to a state-of-the-art pyrotechnics event along the Potomac River, created exclusively for the opening of the festival by artist Cai Guoqiang, who has stunned onlookers from New York to Shanghai. Called an "Explosion Event" by the artist, his spectacular display will incorporate beautifully choreographed traditional fireworks, basic primordial gunpowder and fuse, and high-tech computer-chip embedded firework shells to ignite dancing boats, floating kites, and flying fire dragons--as well as an awesome tornado spiraling across and punctuating the sky.'-- china.org
Black Ceremony, Qatar, 2011
'At the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar this week, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang put on his largest "explosion event" of the last three years, utilizing microchip-controlled explosives to form incredible designs and patterns. The video we've embedded of the event is an impressive testament to how a volatile black powder explosion can be controlled and shaped by computer.mEach set of explosions was calculated to paint a different picture. One series of explosions created black smoke clouds that looked like "drops of ink splattered across the sky." In another, 8,300 shells embedded with computer microchips exploded in a pyramid shape over the desert.'-- Nate Mook
Black Christmas Tree, Washington, D.C., 2012
'Just in time for Christmas, Cai Guo-Qiang has brought his pyrotechnics skills back to America. Commissioned by the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian in Washington DC, the renowned Chinese contemporary artist executed three separate explosions in a performance entitled Black Christmas Tree described as acupuncture treatment for arts in the city. Surprisingly, the tree is still alive post-detonation and will be re-planted elsewhere.' -- Arrested Motion
Simulated Demolition, Taiwan, 1998
'A simulated demolition by fire of the Taichung (Taiwan) National Gallery of fie Arts (1980), as it reopens in modernist carapace in 1998. The incendiation seems meant to be a celebration of the re-architecturing and change in focus of exhibitions: Destruction" opening the way for "Construction".'-- asianimperialisms.com
Fallen Blossoms, Philadelphia, 2009
'Fallen Blossoms consists of a poetic meditation on the passing of time, memory, and memorializing. One of the artist’s signature “explosion events,” Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project was specifically commissioned for the exhibition and occurred at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; followed by a second explosion event at the Fabric Workshop and Museum. It took place at sunset on Friday, December 11 on the East Terrace of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where a blossoming flower shaped from gunpowder fuse was ignited.'-- dissidents.com
Black Rainbow, Valencia, 2005
'Cai Guo-Qiang conceived Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia as part of a series of salutes that will take place in cities across the world (Black Rainbows are also scheduled for Edinburgh and Beijing). Black Rainbow is unique as a project sited in multiple venues. The repetition of Black Rainbow in the international community is intended as a series of omens of widespread unease. While signaling alarm like ancient smoke signals, the ominous arc of smoke in Black Rainbow also serves as a somber and dreamlike salute and reminds us, despite our contemporary associations with explosive materials and warfare, that violence and its signifiers can possess ethereal and profound beauty.' -- Culturebot
New Years Fireworks, Taipei, 2011
'2011 was a special celebration for Taipei, the new year saw in the Centennial of the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) founding in 1911, and to celebrate, China’s Cai Gui-Qiang was commissioned to choreograph a special fireworks display. The superstar artist who’s has previously worked on displays for the Beijing Olympics and World Expo Shanghai’s, and fireworks are very much of the artists method of work, in his iconic ‘Gunpowder Paintings’.'-- slamxhype.com
Explosion Event, Copenhagen, 2012
'For Faurschou Foundation's inaugural exhibition, Cai Guo-Qiang has referenced the foundation's new location in the Free Port of Copenhagen, as well as the country's historical and cultural connection to the sea. On the day of the opening, Cai ignited thousands of mini rockets from a small traditional Danish boat 'Freja' on the water behind the foundation, in front of an enthusiastic crowd from all over Denmark and beyond. The scorch marks from the explosion transformed the boat into a three-dimensional gunpowder drawing, and this sculpture subsequently becomes a part of the exhibition.'-- faurschou.com
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p.s. Hey. ** Scunnard, I think tidiness is a big factor in the upbeat effect probably. Organizing is blissful too of course. And consolidating. Friday, wow, tomorrow. Man, let me know what it's like to be relocated while you're in the heady early days, and, yeah, glad the Ponge spun the experience. Best of luck and ease with everything it takes. ** Allesfliesst, Hi. Sexualizing memories is one of the brain's least openly celebrated tricks, and disinfecting the charge through the legit stylings of dudes like Deleuze is another. Gravity, nice. Good angle, as it were. I guess it's more than an angle. Sounds sweet. You have a good brain. I do think maybe we talked about Dragan Zivadinov, as a bell is rung, but hazily. I'll refresh the memory, and maybe even sexualize it. ** Wolf, Hi, Wolf. Oh, in Marseille? I guess I was confused. I know that fort, but I think I just gazed on it from afar when I was there. Hunh. Yeah, you just move on, sure, right, true. It's cool that you can move back differently home too. Moving is awesome. Okay, on 'Elysium'. Hm. Might be a plane film. I like those kinds of big, empty, noisy movies as distraction and I guess also 'cos I really like seeing how popular entertainment evolves, and I like trying to surrender to the way pleasure reconfigures to see what happens or something. But on planes mostly. I liked 'District 9' okay, but I never got what the big deal was. It just seemed to have a bit more care and IQ points than the usual, which was interesting but not enough to kick my ass, I guess. If you know KK and JA's work, and maybe you do, I can't remember, the wit and surface play in the interview is very self-reflexive and emotionally complicated or something, or it was for me. ** James, Hi, James. I was in Santa Fe only once and briefly, and I didn't get or like it much at all. Yeah, I couldn't understand it. It had been one of your dreams, or you being there had seemed dreamy? My novel's going well. I have a very tentative title in mind. It depends: sometimes I have a title before I start a novel, and sometimes it changes multiple times during the writing. I think that will be the case with this new one. No idea at all on word count. I'm too early on. No idea at all whether the length will be similar to 'TMS'. At the moment, it could be any length, although not hugely long. Thank you for asking, man. I have but haven't yet read the Ashbery translation. I'm going to read it more for the Ashbery than for the Rimbaud. Take care! ** David Ehrenstein, Yes, indeed! Everybody, For those into Pasolini, DE passes along this interesting link. Happy to see Pierre at the top there. ** Don w, Hi, Don. Thanks for coming back. Exciting about your novel and its early reception! Who's publishing it, and when? Me? Traveling a lot all over the place. Working on a lot of projects. Things are really good. I'm feeling as happy and good as I ever have, I think. Love, me. ** Gary gray, Cool, glad you dug the poems. I'm glad this place makes you feel sharey. It's a boon. Intense about you and your mom. And about your disappearance and your friends' guess as to why. Sounds like heated stuff to have underlying something you're writing. But I work from trauma, confusing life shit, etc., a lot. Thanks for finding my projects good. They are good. I'm really lucky at the moment. No, I don't know Marcel's Music Journal. Thank you. It's booked and will be imbibed later on. ** œ, Hi. You're back after all, good. Super nice read on and response to what makes Koch's work so good. Ashbery would vie for the crown of greatest living writer in my world if that crown wasn't a bogus idea. Pleasant day! *** Rewritedept, Yep, a solo space is what you need, sounds like. What are the prospects? Don't force a secret on me, just wait until something seems exciting and nerve-wracking to to reveal. ** Chilly Jay Chill, Thanks about the dances thing, man. Mm, I don't think I have a particular fave Koch book. I think he might be one of those poets where starting with the Selected Poems -- 'On the Great Atlantic Rainway: Selected Poems 1950–1988' -- might be the way to go. Really good luck fighting off that sickness. Very nice to see your book's release propped in PW, obviously! Love and perfect health back to you. ** _Black_Acrylic, Koestenbaum on Ashbery is great if I'm remembering that essay. I did bookmark the doll thing, and I'll make sure to check in there a few times a day until the deed is done. Thanks, Ben. ** Steevee, I guess I would have thought that Al Jazeera was already on that. ** S., I think I have Google +. I think you have to have Google + if you have a blog now, right? I've never even looked at it. I never hear anyone ever talk about it. It seems like a dead zone or something. You'd have to go back in time wearing a contamination suit, though. Sounds like you had fun. Recommend boys? You mean for you to have sex with, or to dream about having sex with? No, I can't think of anybody. I'm sort of out of the loop. Ask Misanthrope maybe. ** Chris Dankland, Hi, Chris! I'm really glad you dug the Koch poems, cool. I saw your email in my box upon waking this morning, thank you, and I'll get on answering the questions asap. Yeah, thanks a lot, man! Have a great morning if it's morning! ** Alan, Hi, Alan! Really good to see you! I wondered if Koch might very pleasurably (for me, I mean) pull you in here. Thank you! Yeah, like I said up above, I'm gonna read the Ashbery Rimbaud translation mostly just to see what decisions Ashbery made. How are you? What are you doing and working on and everything else? ** Misanthrope, Hi, G. Yikes. On the sleep/almost falling thing. I don't know. I never see people doing their own variations on what others have done before as a bad thing. I just think that means you have to look more carefully for the differences and think about them, if you want. I always think the 'it's been done before' approach to new things is a fast lane to losing touch with what newness means and getting muffled by cynicism. I always try to think that when something seems to resemble something from the past it just means I have to work harder to appreciate it or something. I don't know. Were poets ever 'the unacknowledged legislators of the world'? Hunh. Like when? ** Sypha, I guess that qualifies as private dancing. Wow. I used to play air guitar a lot when I was younger and I found it very exciting. But I never do now. That's probably a bad sign. ** Tomkendall, Tom! How super great to see you, buddy! Thanks, man, about the posts. How are you? What's up? Why are you in Miami? I've never been there, so I don't know anything. Everybody, does anybody among you have any tips of things to do in Miami for the awesome writer and d.l. Tomkendall, who happens to be there right now seeking things to do? Thanks! Bunches of love to you, man! *** Done. Maybe you will enjoy exploring the galerie show today. I hope so. See you tomorrow, whatever happens.