Twenty nine glimmering firework footprints, one to represent each Olympiad, shot across the Beijing skyline, travelling an impressive 15 kilometers in just over a minute. This captivating firework display for the opening of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, with the one-of-a-kind “paintings” made with gunpowder are the work of the “Explosive Artist”, Cai Guo-Qiang.
(Image source: www.artspeakchina.org)
Cai has been working with gunpowder and explosives since his teenage years, creating carefully calculated paintings with leftover gunpowder from firecrackers and other explosives on the street. By utilizing this unique raw material, Cai knew he had something the world had not seen.
Explosives in childhood
Growing up in Quanzhou, China, in the 1960’s, Cai saw the struggles of living under a dictatorship and the harsh realities that hindered the Cultural Revolution. He vividly remembers the exchange of artillery batteries with Taiwan across the strait. And, although not under ideal circumstances, Cai realized the incredible emotions that gunpowder and explosives evoke in people.
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Cai Guo-Qiang drew inspiration from his intellectual father, a skilled calligrapher and collector of traditional Chinese manuscripts. In order to counteract the Cultural Revolution, China’s Dictator, Mao Zedong, persecuted anyone deemed intellectual–essentially, anyone who read or taught material not directly related to Chinese propaganda. This forced Cai’s father to burn his collection of manuscripts at night and turn away from his life passion. Looking for solutions to practice his art in secret, Cai’s father would take a stick and draw calligraphy in water puddles, which faded away once the water had evaporated. Cai’s work parallels his father’s–from artwork in water to artwork in fire.
A Cai Guo-Qiang grand showing
(Image source: www.publicdelivery.org)
Viewing a Cai Guo-Qiang piece is never done in a quiet museum gallery. The innovative artist enjoys outside exhibitions with large audiences, with the goal to connect human beings with nature. People see art like never before, with massive colorful explosions and metaphors intended to ring in their ears and minds after the show. No other artist promises a show like Cai Guo-Qiang, hence the flock to view his grand events.
Deconstruction and construction
In China, gunpowder was used for its healing properties, with the literal translation of ‘Fire Medicine’. Cai’s art calls upon the spiritual healing properties of the gunpowder he uses to elicit ‘deconstruction and construction’. His art sets alight and explodes, which deconstructs the gunpowder, which constructs the art, leaving Cai’s metaphor about the origin of his art evident to the eye.
(Image source: www.publicdelivery.org)
Basing his art on strong metaphorical resonances is no coincidence. All of Cai’s works reflect his beliefs and life practices,deep-rooted in tradition, and based on his modern experiences. These influences include:
Taoism
Chinese Taoism is a practice of living with compassion, frugality and humility. It highly values nature, hence Cai’s belief in using an art medium from a natural source to connect people to nature and the universe.
Physics
Creating artwork in mid-air requires more than artistic skill. Cai’s interest in physics and astrophysics developed after leaving China in the late 1980’s for Japan, where he learned of modern science.
Extraterrestrial Beings
(Image source: www.caiguoqiang.com)
Cai Guo-Qiang believes in extraterrestrials and in the early 1990’s began the ‘Projects for Extraterrestrials’, to make artwork so big, bright and extravagant, that it would be visible from space. In 1993, he worked on a piece he claimed would ‘extend the Great Wall of China by 10,000 meters’ and made a household name for his project. With a six mile trail of explosives, Cai strived to create a dialogue with the universe.
Socio-political Issues
The culmination of these experiences, with Cai’s curiosity to collaborate with NASA, led him to move to the United States. He wanted to live and work in what he considered a problematic region of the 21st Century, to offer a different perspective.
(Image source: www.publicdelivery.org)
Cai Guo-Qiang Future events
So, what’s next for this unique artist?
(Image source: www.news.artnet.com)
Influenced by his love for astrophysics and extraterrestrial beings, Cai is currently working on ‘Sky Ladder’, the largest art installation to ever be commissioned. The concept is making a ladder out of lights and explosives high enough to touch the sky. The idea has received much buzz and critical acclaim, and been adapted into a Netflix Originals Documentary.
Cai has achieved more than most artists can fathom. Nevertheless, his ambitions continue to bigger and better creations.