Cai Guo-Qiang extravaganza weekend

Last weekend I went with some friends to see the Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit at the Guggenheim museum. I had never seen this artists work and I knew next to nothing about it. I went in with a clean slate;almost. I had read an article about Inopportune: Stage One and I understood a little about his works but I didn’t know much about his early works.

Cai works in so many different mediums, he is definitely a multi medium artist. Everything from Gunpowder to goat fur. My favorite work from this exhibition was Head On.

Head On is a piece that consists of 99 wolves. The wolves are made out of papier-mache and fur. The above picture is not the installation at the Guggenheim. At the Guggenheim the wolves go around in a spiral up the ramp and end at the same piece of glass like pictured above. The interaction and ability to walk around and through this piece is the best part. Each wolf is unique, different colors, shapes and sizes.

His work almost fills the entire Guggenheim. This man has created so much work it is quite incredible. I am amazed at the enormity of his portfolio and the depth of his art.

The idea of using gunpowder to create is one of most amazing things i have ever seen. It is more than just the finished piece. The way that he creates the work is an art within itself. There were multiple projectors that showed films of how these were made.

How do you emulate a car bombing without actually blowing up cars? The guy who loves to blow stuff up has set himself the restraint not to. This piece that fills the entire open area of the Guggenheim is awesome. Just the idea of hoisting cars up in the air is great and then he adds flashing lights that emulate fireworks or explosions coming out of the cars.

I know a lot of my readers won’t be able to go visit this exhibit in person but if there is any possible way to, I definitely recommend it. If you can’t possibly make it to New York to see it there is an alternative.  This online exhibit has tons of information on it and the photographs are very well done.  Go Learn!

All images  from Guggenheim online exhibition site.

Roy Pedley and Mr.Isekes

Two photographs I have been working on from my grandmother. I visited her this weekend and she gave me some more names to put with photographs I have scanned.

This is a photograph of my grandfather (far right) and his mother Oma. The couple on the left are family friends the Isekes.

This is a photograph of presumably the same meeting as the above photograph. The man in the middle with the plaid shirt was a friend of my great grandparents Roy Pedley.

This is a photograph of my Great Grandfather Maurice, my Great Grandmother Else, and my great aunt Jane, and her sister Else. That would be my late grandfathers two sisters.