|
In Washington, the 25th anniversary of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery will be celebrated in parallel. The gallery houses an important collection of Asian art. Together with the State Department, the museum invited Cai Guo-Qiang to realize one of his spectacular projects. For Black Christmas Tree: Explosion Event for Washington, D.C., Cai suspended a 40 feet tall pine tree with 2,000 purpose-built black smoke air burst fireworks. Upon ignition, black smoke puffs will 'light up' the tree, subsequently transforming into a cascade of thick smoke that mimics the dynamic strokes of traditional Chinese brush drawings. In the course of the fireworks display, the smoke will slowly waft away from the tree, giving rise to two trees: a real tree and an ethereal one floating next to it that slowly dissipates in the air.
|