The man behind the Olympic fireworks

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The Olympics started to today with a bang of a huge fireworks display. The type of opening was not a surprise to me as we do associate China with fireworks. What was surprising, however, was that they chose a famous artist to coordinate the display. Admittedly, I should not have been surprised as everything about it makes perfect sense.

Cai Guo-Qiang is not just the man behind the much celebrated opening to today's opening to the Olympics. He is a world reknown artist who creates "explosion events." His works include installations, happenings and documented happenings. Recently the Guggenheim museum in NYC (you know the one by Frank L. Wright and starred in Men In Black) exhibited an installation by Cai that dealt with cars with colored filaments shooting out of them all while dangling from the ceiling. His happenings usually deal with gun powder and fireworks. One of my favorites is of a firework that is sent above a city scape on a clear blue sky-afternoon and explodes leaving an eary black cloud over the city. More of his recent works deal with "drawing" gun powder and then igniting them leaving tangible piece of artwork.

If I knew how to post a movie of his work, I'd do it. Someone care to teach me how? Otherwise, click to see one of his works titled Pyrotechnic Rainbow .