Hanging Out in the Museum with Cai Guo Qiang
Gunpowder and Free Expression
I picked up the flyer as it caught my eye in the Taipei Main Station MRT because it showed works by Cai Guo-Qiang. I had never heard of this artist and seeing how going to the art museum is not usually in my tight schedule for the week, I probably never would have. However, it was the hanging British Opels with what looked like flaming bullet holes, tigers seemily brutally over-killed by arrows and the unknowing wolves colliding into a transparent wall which excited the primal morbid need for violence in me. So i went.
Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Guangzhou City, Fujian province, China. As the son of a historian and painter, Cai was trained in stage design at the Shanghai drama institute. His work has, since the outset, been scholarly and often politically charged. Everything that Cai does is large. His paintings and pieces are all larger than life which makes it easy for the viewer to be involved. He is also know for his work with gunpowder and explosives and there is a hall and videos documenting these large works which he did in large halls, rooftops of buildings and large open areas.
The works were took up large spaces and invloved the people by allowing them to move around the large exhibits and get up close and personal with the pieces.
The exhibition is currently on display at the Fine Arts Museum in Taipei and also features numerous works including day and night and Toroko Gorge, large drawings created on Cai's favorite medium--gunpowder on sheets of paper covered with stencils. He started working
with gunpowder to develop spontaneity and confront the
suppression that he felt from
the controlled artistic tradition and
social problems in China at the time.
The exhibition is thought prooiking and definately worth a visit. It costs about $250nt enter and is a good place to hang out for an hour or two if you want to stimulate your mind and experiece something amazing.
In his own words:'"People say you can hang out with a pretty girl or hang out at an internet café. iI essence, the term ‘hang out’ means to enjoy something.'"- Cai Guo-Qiang
To learn more about Cai Guo Qiang and his history check here.
The exhibition will run until February 21st, 2010 at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, you can learn more here.(English Tab at the top)
doctor rockso makes this comment
週二, 09 二月 2010