Cover Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Footprints of History: Fireworks for the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games”, August 8, 2008 (Photo: Hiro Ihara, courtesy of Cai Studio)
Cai Guo-Qiang’s “Footprints of History: Fireworks for the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games”, August 8, 2008 (Photo: Hiro Ihara, courtesy of Cai Studio)
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Cai Guo-Qiang, the pioneering artist who uses gunpowder to make ‘explosion’ art, explains why AI is a natural next step for his art practice
Artist Cai Guo-Qiang has been enlisted to create this signature “explosion event” for PST Art, this September. Cai is best known for his pioneering use of gunpowder to create paintings, drawings and pyrotechnics artwork. Some of his best known works include Sky Ladder (2015) and the fireworks display at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
PST Art is a programme featuring 70 exhibitions organised by various cultural institutions in South California. This year’s theme is Art & Science Collide. Cai’s highly anticipated presentation will be part of the opening event on September 15. An exhibition highlighting his drawings, paintings and research titled, Cai Guo-Qiang: A Material Odyssey, will be on view at The University of Southern California’s Pacific Asia Museum from September 17.
For his LA pyrotechnics presentation titled We Are, Cai will use nearly 10,000 computer-controlled mini fireworks, “which will burst like pixels through the seating bowl to create a grand explosive matrix,” Cai describes, comparing it to his Beijing Olympics, with the new work being reminiscent of the "card stunt" performances that took place in 2008. Comprising custom-developed daytime fireworks and choreographed drones carrying pyrotechnic products, the performance, according to Cai will “demonstrate AI’s dimension reduction revealing ‘heavenly secrets’ to humanity.” The work is inspired by the myth of Prometheus, in which he steals fire from the Gods and gives it to human in the form of knowledge and civilisation, drawing a contemporary parallel to the relationship between AI and humans.
Also read: 5 exhibitions and art spaces to see in Paris during the Olympics
Above A rendering of Cai Guo-Qiang’s “We Are” display that will be shown in California in September (Photo: courtesy of Cai Studio)
A rendering of Cai Guo-Qiang’s “We Are” display that will be shown in California in September (Photo: courtesy of Cai Studio)
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Cai says that, as soon as the theme of Art & Science Collide was announced, “[I] immediately thought of the AI model my team and I were developing, which is precisely a combination of science and art. Therefore, I proposed to create a daytime fireworks display orchestrated by AI, introducing AI into the creative choreography of fireworks.”
Since 2017, Cai and his team have been researching AI and have developed an experimental model, cAI™ (pronounced as AI Cai), that integrates text, images, audio and video. In addition to learning from Cai’s body of work, archive and areas of interest, cAI™ simulates historical and contemporary figures that the artist admires.
“I’ve engaged in conversations with cAI™ and its simulated personalities to explore the nature of AI and the fate of humanity, and generate images based on this text” says Cai, who also used this model to develop a proposal plan for We Are. “I also wore the ‘sky eye’ (a head-mounted lens) to conduct site visits with cAI™, allowing it to provide real-time visual and text feedback based on the scenes it ‘sees’. The theme of the display will be based on the following question posed to cAI™: what will be the fate of humanity?”
Above Cai Guo-Qiang and his daughter Wen-You Cai at the rehearsal of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in 2008 (Photo: courtesy of Cai Studio)
Cai Guo-Qiang and his daughter Wen-You Cai at the rehearsal of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in 2008 (Photo: courtesy of Cai Studio)
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Whether or not AI is part of the organic progression of humanity, Cai believes that it’s the natural next step in his practice, as gunpowder was in the ’80s. He enjoys working with new materials as it poses unprecedented challenges and leaves room for experimentation. “I always longed for an artistic medium that could help me free myself, self-destruct and lose control,” the artist says on his initial desire to work with gunpowder. “Gunpowder allowed me to liberate myself from my timid nature and the oppressive society, and its unpredictability disturbs me as much as it excites me. The same is true of my interactions with AI.”
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Aaina was the Arts and Culture Editor of Tatler Asia. A passion for history and all things visual led her in the pursuit of art history. With extensive experience in the art world working for a range of art institutions, she combined her passion and expertise in the form of art and culture journalism. Prior to Tatler, Aaina worked as a culture reporter for South China Morning Post and editor at the online art platform Cobo Social. Additionally, she has contributed to a variety of prestigious art publications including Art Review, The Art Newspaper, Ocula, Art Agenda, Artsy, Design Anthology, and Artomity. Follow her on Instagram.
