‘Hanging Out in a Museum’ with Cai Guo Qiang

Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo Qiang delves in art that is both politically and philosophically charged. His main concern is his homeland China, a nation that has often been at odds with their artists. Cai Guo Qiang is no different. He has been condemned for his works but then was also invited to help commemorate the Beijing Summer Olympics with his astounding fireworks show.

In the latest twist of art and politics, the Taipei Museum of Fine Arts is currently exhibiting a Cai Guo Qiang retrospective that encompasses numerous famed works. This homage by a country China refuses to recognize will not please them very much. Dubbed ‘Hanging Out in a Museum’, Cai Guo Qiang simply wants people to interact and humbly enjoy his beautiful works.

Cai Guo Qiang literally exploded onto the international art scene with his exploration of the use of gunpowder in his drawings with stencil. The aim was to have art that was spontaneous and uncontrollable, confronting the suppressed art scene and the social and political conditions in China at the time. The result is a very dynamic oeuvre.

No Cai Guo Qiang retrospective is complete without the Cultural Melting Bath, recreated in the outdoor courtyard of the museum. This herbal hot tub, which people are encouraged to join in, is surrounded by spectacular rocks brought in from Cai Guo Qiang’s home province of Jiangsu. These rocks were sculpted naturally by wind and water and are symbols of his homeland and the Feng Shui influence of the natural flow of energy in the universe.

Also on display is his ‘Head On’ installation, an astonishing piece made from 99 life-size wolf replicas (pictured above).

There is much more included in this political and passionate retrospective that runs until February 21st, 2010.

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by Henry Guyer
Gloobbi Art

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