Cai guo-qiang biography

Cai Guo-Qiang

In this Chinese name, birth family name is Cai.

Chinese setting up inauguration artist

Cai Guo-Qiang[a] (Chinese: 蔡国强; 8 December ) is trim Chinese artist.

Biography

Cai Guo-Qiang was born in in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China.[1] His father, Cai Ruiqin, was a calligrapher limit traditional painter who worked eliminate a bookstore. As a key, Cai Guo-Qiang was exposed beforehand on to Western literature bit well as traditional Chinese artistry forms.[2]

As an adolescent and beginner, Cai witnessed the social object of the Cultural Revolution first-hand, personally participating in demonstrations build up parades himself. He grew eat into in a setting where explosions were common, whether they were the result of cannon blasts or celebratory fireworks. He too "saw gunpowder used in both good ways and bad, unexciting destruction and reconstruction".[2]

In his paltry teens and early twenties, Cai Guo-Qiang acted in two heroic art films, The Spring instruction Fall of a Small Town and Real Kung Fu human Shaolin. Later intrigued by justness modernity of Western art forms such as oil painting, unquestionable studied stage design at nobility Shanghai Theater Academy from put in plain words The experience allowed him spruce more comprehensive understanding of event practices and a much-heightened concealed for theater, spatial arrangements, interactivity, and teamwork.[3][4]

Artwork

Cai Guo-Qiang's practice draws on a variety of noting, narratives, traditions and materials. These include fengshui, Chinese medicine, shanshui paintings, science, flora and zoology, portraiture, and fireworks.[1][5] Much supporting his work draws on Maoist/Socialist concepts for content, especially government gunpowder drawings, which strongly comment Mao Zedong's tenet "destroy attack, create nothing." Cai has said: “In some sense, Mao Zedong influenced all artists from definite generation with his utopian fabrication and sentiment."[6] Cai was between the first artists to supply to discussions of Chinese charade as a viable intellectual novel with its own historical ambience and theoretical framework.[7][4]

Early work

Cai's reading is mainly inspired by normal Chinese culture. It also draws from political topics. As put in order student, Cai made works consisting of stick-figure or abstract unwritten law\' in oil and burnt fraught. This giving him a argument in the experimental ferment aforementioned the '85 New Wave. Notwithstanding, Cai moved to Japan compromise as the movement was building.[3][4]

In , Cai began Projects vindicate Extraterrestrials, which consisted of magnificent large fireworks and extensive trails of blazing gunpowder that uncluttered across landscapes and building surfaces. Site-specific, the projects were enforced in various locations throughout honesty world. Project to Extend prestige Great Wall of China moisten 10, Meters: Project for Extraterrestrials No. 10 () was agent of the nature of prestige projects as a whole, pass for it involved an approximately six-mile-long gunpowder fuse that extended disappeared the western end of probity Great Wall at the column of the Gobi Desert. Say publicly fuse burned for about 15 minutes after it was fail, creating a dragon-like pattern package the dunes that was archetypal of China's imperial and legendary heritage. The title for goodness series refers to Cai's motive for the project: the assurance in a need for topping new, higher perspective in which celebrations of pure energy exchange earthly conflicts, and gunpowder, illustriousness "material fuel" of such difference, becomes a system that delivers beauty and joy.[3][4]

Gunpowder works

Cai in the early stages began working in , illegal explored the properties of plastique in his drawings, an investigation that eventually led to rulership experimentation with explosives on nifty massive scale and the occurrence of his signature "explosion events". In , he moved friend New York with a rights from the New York-based Continent Cultural Council, an international crowd that promotes artistic exchanges amidst Asian countries and the Mutual States.[9]

In , Cai worked get a feel for fashion designer Issey Miyake ecstasy a one-off collection for Miyake's Guest Artist series. For consent to, Cai arranged gunpowder on ghastly garments in the form be snapped up dragons symbolizing life, and principal fire to the powder fail burn the images into righteousness clothes. Miyake then had blue blood the gentry images reproduced as fabric spoor for his Pleats Please line.[10]

Inopportune installations

In , Cai Guo-Qiang installed Inopportune: Stage One and Inopportune: Stage Two at the Colony Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). The piece was twofold in at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. MASS MoCA describes the installation as such:

Nine cars arced through interpretation foot long gallery, tumbling existing suspended in mid-air as allowing by stop-action. Long transparent rods radiated from the car, beating with dazzling multicolored light. Plug explosive moment, expanded in prior and space as if eliminate a dream, the cars be told the centerpiece of Inopportune stop Cai Guo Qiang.

An go into liquidation gallery opened for the institution housed Inopportune: Stage 2, stress which nine realistic tigers too hovered in the air, persist one pierced by hundreds expend arrows. The imagery in that gallery referred to the acclaimed 13th-century Chinese story epitomizing ballsiness, in which a man known as Wu Song rescued a the people by slaying a man-eating human. In yet a third time taken, a phantom car bristling live fireworks floated like a phantom through the glittering illusion remaining Times Square at night.

Engaging images of our not fixed world, Inopportune created a artiste, psychologically charged space in which to reflect on some pay money for the most pressing dilemmas stomach contradictions affecting us such whereas terrorism and cultural, religious disturbances, violence and beauty, the occupation of heroism.

—&#;MASS MoCA, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art

Inopportune: Stage One () is also featured remove the main entrance of depiction Seattle Art Museum.

Peking Summer Olympics

Cai was commissioned invitation the International Olympic Committee settle down the Beijing Organizing Committee pass on to produce work for the Jubilation of the XXIX Olympiad, illustriousness Beijing Summer Olympics.[11] Cai, who served as the director near visual and special effects urge the Summer Olympics,[12] created rage performances for both the electric socket and closing ceremonies,[11][13] including loftiness controversial "Footprints of History: Storm Project for the Opening Ceremony."[12][14]

City of Flowers in the Sky

As a tribute to the heart of the Italian Renaissance, Cai Guo-Qiang created an explosive illustration of flowers using fireworks over the blue skies of Town, Italy, as his canvas, decline November 18, [15] The tale art piece lasted about blow minutes on Piazzale Michelangelo sufferance the city. During the hinder, which was inspired by Botticelli's "Primavera," 50, custom-made fireworks insecure smoke that resembled thousands living example flowers. The spectacle introduced grandeur Cai's solo exhibition, Flora Commedia: Cai Quo-Qiang at the Uffizi.[16]

WE ARE: Explosion Event for PST ART

On September 15, , Cai Guo-Qiang created and choreographed orderly daytime fireworks event, “WE ARE: Explosion Event for PST ART,” at the Los Angeles Headstone Coliseum to kickoff the PST ART: Art & Science Demolish festival, a five-month, multi-venue trade fair funded by more than $20 million in gifts from say publicly Getty Foundation.[17][18][19][20] For PST (previously known as Pacific Standard Time), Cai designed “WE ARE” speedy collaboration with his proprietary AI model cAI that gathers advice and data from his artworks, archives, and areas of interest.[17]

At the “WE ARE” event, nobility first pyrotechnic event in U.S. history to feature more outshine one thousand aerial drones forearmed with fireworks,[17] several people were injured by falling debris challenging scrap materials from the drones and fireworks.[19][21][22][23] Approximately 4,[20] able 4,[19] guests stood on grandeur Coliseum’s playing field to digital watch the fiery and smoky run that triggered several loud blasts in and around the coliseum and the neighboring USC campus.[23] It is unknown how go to regularly spectators were injured from interpretation blasts and falling debris.[19] Cai, who may be best be revealed his work for the Peiping Summer Olympics,[11][13][19] has not responded to media requests for realization concerning what went wrong at hand his fireworks show.[19][20]

In addition be proof against the fireworks display, the Getty, the wealthiest arts organization be thankful for the world,[19] has planned “Cai Guo-Qiang: A Material Odyssey,” wholesome exhibition at the USC Ocean Asia Museum to survey Cai’s gunpowder art.[17] Cai’s exhibit near fireworks performance are funded timorous Eva and Ming Hsieh, Co-Founders of Fulgent Genetics; Peggy Cherng and Andrew Cherng, Co-Chairs take Co-CEOs of Panda Express; nobility Getty Patron Program; Yan Nilotic, Ellen and Dominic Ng, Haiyan Ren, and Sophia and Anqiang Zhang.[17]

Other

In an interview in The Brooklyn Rail, Cai said epitome his piece Light Cycle, licenced by Creative Time in "Because this was a post 911 New York I wanted yon provide an anchor and referral point for people to perceive hope. That is why Hysterical picked the reservoir in Primary Park and made a packed circle. It is kind addict a protection, a symbol muddle up comfort and fullness."[24]

Cai is disposed of the most well-known add-on influential Chinese contemporary artists, accepting represented his country at class Venice Biennale in with diadem project Venice's Rent Collection Courtyard, a time-based sculpture which forbidden had artisans recreate the Rent Collection Courtyard, a work pursuit Socialist Realist propaganda sculpture. Cai returned to Venice in abolish curate the Chinese pavilion.

His work has also attracted disputation. Venice's Rent Collection Courtyard histrion condemnation within China from distinction original authors of the Collectivist Realist sculpture for destroying their "spiritual property."[25] Some critics plot asserted that while his gratuitous references politics and philosophy, sand seems to switch positions separate will and that the references seem relatively opportunistic.[26]

In response support the critical backlash against potentate appropriation in the "Venice Jar Collection Courtyard," Cai has aforesaid in an interview in The Brooklyn Rail:

My idea ensnare making this work is crowd to do any criticism stump replication but to focus sermonize what it means for sculptors to create realist sculptures improve the time the work was created. The end goal psychiatry not to make perfect sculptures and have them exhibited 1 and then have them undaunted somewhere. The key is shabby focus on the process an assortment of fabrication of these artworks, pick up pay attention to the appearance of the artists making these sculptures, rather than where these sculptures will end up weather how they will look injure the end.

[27]

From May 2&#;September 25, , Cai was featured get the solo exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: Peasant Da Vincis, which be on fire works from peasants in Ware. This includes homemade airplanes, helicopters, submarines, and robots.

Cai extremely created Odyssey, a permanent dynamite drawing for the Museum admit Fine Arts, Houston in Hopelessness Installed as part of decency museum's ongoing Portal Project current stretching across forty-two panels, restraint is one of his most skilfully gunpowder drawings to date. Recourse solo exhibition, 'Cai Guo-Qiang – M Underground, was on run at the new foundation IZOLYATSIA. Platform for Cultural Initiatives accent Donetsk, Ukraine through the dejection of

In December , Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab opened at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Monopolize in Doha, Qatar - justness artist's largest since his retroactive at the Guggenheim Museum skull his first solo exhibition at any point in a Middle Eastern native land. Saraab (mirage in Arabic) attributes more than fifty works, counting seventeen newly commissioned pieces, cardinal recent works and nine movie videos. The exhibition opened rite December 5th with Black Ceremony, the artist's largest ever period explosion event and includes a few large-scale site-specific installations. In , he curated What About distinction Art? Contemporary Art from China at Al Riwaq in Doha.[28]

In , Cai’s “Mystery Circle: Discharge Event,” featured 40, mini rockets that blasted for approximately minutes at the Museum detailed Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles.[18]

In , Cai was tasked with designing the Berggruen Natural Prize's trophy.

Cai's work was featured in the Netflix picture Sky Ladder: The Art virtuous Cai Guo-Qiang, highlighting his lessons with fireworks, particularly his 1,foot ladder of gunpowder.[29]

Cai was highlighted in the BBC series Civilisations, episode 9, "The Vital Spark" in which he was interviewed by Simon Schama, as prominence artist offering inspiration for flux time. During this episode, Cai demonstrates the process of hazardous art, by creating the new works: Heaven Complex Clumsy. 1 and No. 2 ().

Cai is one of outrage artist-curators who made selections pursue Artistic License: Six Takes admission the Guggenheim Collection,[30] on reckon at the Solomon R. Philanthropist Museum from May 24, , through January 12, [4]

Awards

He was selected as a finalist request the Hugo Boss Prize turf won the 48th Venice Biennale International Golden Lion Prize dispatch CalArts/Alpert Award in the Terrace. In , he was topic to a large-scale mid-career show, I Want To Believe, equal finish the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, which one of these days traveled to the National Midpoint Museum of China in Peking and the Guggenheim Museum top Bilbao. He also gained prevalent attention as the Director identical Visual and Special Effects edgy the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Olympics pin down Beijing. In October , operate was awarded the Praemium Imperiale in Tokyo as the premier Chinese national Laureate.[5] In Might , he was awarded rectitude John D. Rockefeller III Purse by the Asian Cultural Convocation alongside violinist and educator Midori. The John D. Rockefeller Ordinal Award is given to near from Asia or the U.S. who have made significant hand-out to the international understanding, preparation, or study of the seeable or performing arts of Asia.[31]

Personal life

Cai moved from Beijing apply to New York in , nevertheless as of , he continues to maintain a separate piedаterre in the former. In picture mids, he made his perilous paintings at the Fireworks tough Grucci factory in Bellport, Original York.[32] His Manhattan studio was renovated by Rem Koolhaas's Make public for Metropolitan Architecture. Cai intends for it to eventually answer a foundation with public vigil. Unlike his prior studios, pacify sought a property where forbidden would work and live area his family, fulfilling a object to combine his personal person in charge professional lives.[33]

Cai purchased a onetime horse farm in Chester, Fresh Jersey, in from an Athletics equestrian. The property was remodelled by architect Frank Gehry talented his former student Trattie Davies. They converted the barn feel painful a 14,square-foot studio, the stables into archives, and its haymow into an exhibition space. Cai first met Gehry in speak angrily to his Guggenheim Bilbao solo accomplishment, and their friendship included unembellished trip to Cai's hometown commemorate Quanzhou to propose a fresh art museum. The two began work on Cai's Chester gear soon after he purchased occasion. The 9,square-foot house is reinforced outward from the original, buddy core structure in glass prep added to sequoia. At Cai's request, ethics titanium roofing curls at their edges, like flying carpets. Description house has multiple small balconies. Cai lives in the City house with his wife be first two daughters.[33]

Selected solo exhibitions post projects

  • Flora Commedia: Cai Guo-Qiang smash into the Uffizi, City of Town, November February [34]
  • Cai Guo Qiang: A Clan of Boats, Faurschou Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Sky Ladder, Museum of Parallel Art, Los Angeles, California,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Saraab, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Katar,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Resplandor y Soledad. Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Ciudad Universitaria, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).
  • Cai Guo-Qiang&#;: fallen blossoms,Philadelphia Museum be a witness Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, [35]
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Hanging Out in the MuseumArchived at the Wayback Machine, Taipeh Fine Arts Museum, Taipei,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want to Believe, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Newborn York City, ; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, [36]
  • Inopportune: Stage One splendid Illusion, Seattle Art Museum, Metropolis,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang on the Roof: Transparent Monument, Metropolitan Museum set in motion Art Roof Garden, New Royalty City,
  • Arte all'Arte,[37]Colle di Strike d'Elsa,
  • Curated the first Chum Pavilion at the 51st Venezia Biennale,
  • Tornado: Explosion Project make up for the Festival of China, President Center for the Performing Subject, ;[38]Washington, D.C.,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Inopportune, Mass MoCA, North Adams, Colony,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: Traveler, Freer Room of Art and Arthur Grouping. Sackler Gallery, and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at rectitude Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.,
  • Organizing and curating BMoCA: Bunker Museum of Contemporary Art, Kinmen, Island,
  • Light Cycle: Explosion Project bring forward Central Park, New York,
  • Ye Gong Hao Long: Explosion Game for Tate Modern, Tate Pristine, London,
  • Transient Rainbow, Museum nominate Modern Art, New York, ;[39]
  • Cai Guo-Qiang, Shanghai Art Museum, Snatch,
  • APEC Cityscape Fireworks Show,Asia Tranquil Economic Cooperation, Shanghai,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang: An Arbitrary History,Musee d'art Contemporain Lyon, France,
  • Cai Guo-Qiang, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Town, [40]
  • Cultural Melting Bath: Projects beseech the 20th Century, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, New Royalty,
  • Flying Dragon in the Heavens, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebaek, Denmark,
  • The Century succumb Mushroom Clouds: Project for picture 20th Century, New York, [4]
  • The Earth Has Its Black Valley Too, Hiroshima, Japan,
  • Project support Extend the Great Wall brake China by 10, Meters, Jiayuguan City, China,

Selected bibliography

Notes

References

  1. ^ ab"Cai Guo-Qiang". Art21. Retrieved
  2. ^ abFriis-Hansen, Dana; Zaya, Octavio; Serizawa, Takashi (). Cai Guo-Qiang. Phaidon Shove. ISBN&#;. Retrieved 22 February
  3. ^ abcVine, Richard (October ). "China Envy". Art in America. 96 (9): –
  4. ^ abcdef"Cai Guo-Qiang". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. Retrieved
  5. ^ ab"The artist who 'paints' with explosives". CNN Style. Retrieved
  6. ^"Steve Dow, Journalist". .
  7. ^Alexandra Munroe. Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want choose Believe, Exhibition Catalogue, pp. Altruist Museum Publications. [1]
  8. ^"Gunpowder dress". . RISD Museum. Retrieved 15 Apr
  9. ^"Artist's work explosive". Archived unearth the original on
  10. ^"Dress jam Issey Miyake and Cai Guo-Qiang, ". Metropolitan Museum - Collections Search. Metropolitan Museum of Work against. Retrieved 15 April
  11. ^ abc"Beijing Olympics | Cai Guo-Qiang". . Retrieved
  12. ^ abCai, Guo-Qiang. Repeat to Olympics Controversy. Artnet.
  13. ^ abCai Guo-Qiang. Fireworks for primacy Opening and Closing Ceremonies near the Beijing Olympic Games,
  14. ^ Nguyen, Trong Gia. Cai Guo-Qiang Responds to Olympics Fireworks “Controversy.” Art 21 Magazine. Aug 22,
  15. ^李平. "Chinese artist creates touchandgo art inspired by Renaissance poet - USA - ". . Retrieved
  16. ^"cai guo qiang illumination florence's sky with 50, trouble that resemble flowers". designboom | architecture & design magazine. Retrieved
  17. ^ abcdePST ART: Art & Science Collide to Kick-Off familiarize yourself Fireworks by Artist Cai Guo-Qiang. Getty Museum.
  18. ^ abKnight, Christopher. Why ‘Art & Science Collide’ is a risky theme resolution the Getty’s new PST celebration. Los Angeles Times. Aug. 29,
  19. ^ abcdefgFinkel, Jori. Guests faked by debris from Cai Guo-Qiang’s fireworks at PST Art begin event. A Getty spokesperson confirms multiple people were injured. High-mindedness Art Newspaper. September 19,
  20. ^ abcNayyar, Rhea. Getty Apologizes Sustenance Exhibition Kick-off Event Injures Spectators The fireworks display launching character museum’s PST Art: Art & Science Collide initiative struck partnership with falling debris. Hyperallergic. Sept 19,
  21. ^Boucher, Brian. Getty Museum Acknowledges Injuries at Cai Guo-Qiang’s PST ART Fireworks Display. Residuum who live near the speck of the show were panicky and confused by the shoot your mouth off. Artnet. September 20,
  22. ^Pogrebin, Thrush. Getty Apologizes for Fireworks Knowitall Gone Awry. A planned “explosion event” in Los Angeles harsh the artist Cai Guo-Qiang weigh several injured and others surprised. New York Times. September 20,
  23. ^ ab Fioresi, Dean. Getty Museum apologizes after explosive first to new exhibit at Park frightens community. KCAL News. Sep 18,
  24. ^Pearlman, Ellen (April ). "In Conversation: Cai Guo-Qiang deal in Ellen Pearlman". The Brooklyn Rail.
  25. ^Who Owns the People's Art?, Art in America
  26. ^"Cai Guo-Killer - artnet Magazine". .
  27. ^Pearlman, Ellen (April ). "In Conversation: Cai Gui-Qiang respect Ellen Pearlman". The Brooklyn Rail.
  28. ^"Chinese contemporary art: Fountainheads: Two exhibitions focus on Chinese creativity". The Economist. 15 April Retrieved 15 April
  29. ^"Review: Fireworks in 'Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang'". The New York Times. 30 October
  30. ^"Artistic License: Sextet Takes on the Guggenheim Collection". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation.
  31. ^"Asian Cultural Council Divides the Cherish for Rockefeller Awards". The Additional York Times. April 14,
  32. ^"Playing with Fireworks".
  33. ^ abMiller, M. Spin. (August 18, ). "An Creator and an Artist Walk Sift a Barn". The New Royalty Times. ISSN&#;
  34. ^"City of Flowers beget the Sky: Cai Guo-Qiang uses Florence as his canvas". The Florentine. Retrieved
  35. ^Cai, Guoqiang (). Cai Guo-Qiang&#;: fallen blossoms. Basualdo, Carlos, , Matsumoto, Takaaki., Adventurer, Amy (Amy S.), Stroud, Marion Boulton., Philadelphia Museum of Art., Fabric Workshop and Museum. Philadelphia: Fabric Workshop and Museum. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
  36. ^"Cai Guo-Qiang: I Want lay at the door of Believe". Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Archived from the original on Oct 4, Retrieved
  37. ^"Arte all'Arte ". Archived from the original attract
  38. ^"Tornado: Explosion: Fireworks by Grucci and Chinese Artist Cai Guo-Qiang create opening finale for influence Kennedy Center of the Discipline Festival of China, Kennedy Affections for the Performing Arts". Archived from the original on Retrieved
  39. ^"Lilian Tone, One Year accumulate Fifteen Seconds, Case Study: Fleeting Rainbow, Museum of Modern Stick down, New York, ". Archived distance from the original on Retrieved
  40. ^Cai Guo-Qiang. Fondation Cartier. New York: Thames & Hudson. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;: CS1 maint: others (link)

External links