Saturday, March 29, 2008

i want to believe

zach and i decided to go to the guggenheim. we were interested in seeing the exhibition there, and have decided that we need to see more museums! the installation was by cai guo-qiang, entitled i want to believe. the pieces were mostly from other installations, and modified for installation in the gugenheim. the center piece is a series of nine cars, that simulate a bombing, exploding vertically and rotating through the center of the space.

we followed the audio with the show, which took you through the space from the bottom, spiraling up the ramp. zach and i were thinking that we remembered that you were "supposed" to take the elevator to the top and then view the art while walking down.
my two favorite pieces were the wolves and his re-interpretation of the rent collection courtyard. Both pieces were very interesting to move through. when we walked along the wolves, you felt as if you were running with them. their over exaggerated forms had so much energy. (you should know that they are not real wolves- i think they said that cai used to be in set design)the rent collection courtyard was a series of sculptures that had been originally exhibited in venice in 1999, which is when this photo is from. he and his team reconstruct the work from 1967, a series of sculptures. his version is shown in process, with some sculptures unfinished, and tools lying around. the series is left to dry and crack throughout the exhibition, which adds to the expressions and postures of suffering.

cai is apparently known for his gunpowder pieces, which filled the upper levels of the exhibit. zach really liked these.

this exhibition has gotten a lot of hype, and was filled with people the day that we visited. we both really enjoyed it. i think it was definitely a good way to spend a saturday morning.

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