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The Century of mushroom clouds in the privacy

Stock Hiro Ihara. Courtesy of Cai Studio.

Cai Guo-Qiang (1957, Quanzhou) is a Chinese artist based in New York who is considered one of the most original, coherent and risky the current scene. Gunpowder is the basis for many of his works ("painted" canvases with fire and explosions pirotécncas) and was responsible for the stunning fireworks display at the opening of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Stock Hiro Ihara. Courtesy of Cai Studio

Between February and April 1996, newly established United States, conducted the project "The Century of Mushroom Clouds: Project for the twentieth century." The idea was to recreate, by exploding a small tube packed with 10 grams of gunpowder, the silhouette of a mushroom cloud in different parts of the country: the Nevada Test Site , Manhattan and the sculpture "Spiral Jetty " by Robert Smithson, among others. I photographed the exact time the smoke had the atomic form par excellence.

Stock Hiro Ihara. Courtesy of Cai Studio

the fungus image Atomic is perhaps the most powerful symbol of the twentieth century. According to the artist, "as a symbol of progress and victory of science, the cloud mushroom-shaped ', with all its visual impact, has a huge spiritual and material influence in society." In this action no value judgments, but a purely aesthetic and historical.

Stock Hiro Ihara. Courtesy of Cai Studio

The work of Cai Guo-Qiang is extensive and includes painting, sculpture, land art, ephemeral actions, fireworks and performances. It is without doubt one of the current references in contemporary art.

thank Ma Xiaoli, Cai Studio, your kindness and cooperation when it comes to offering us images and information.