Hey my artwork is in the New York Times and the Guggenheim!
Okay, okay, it’s not actually my artwork. But it is artwork that I helped assemble/create: flying stuffed fake tigers pierced with arrows. To be more precise, MASS MoCA director Joe Thompson and I both labored together to put all of the arrows in all of the tigers, during a long two weeks helping create Cai Guo-Qiang’s fabulous installation, Inopportune (curated by Laura Heon). It was up to the two of us to determine where to place all the arrows, based on drawings and much feedback from the artist. Many of the artworks in Inopportune are now in what looks to be a fantastic exhibit at the Guggenheim, organized by Tom Krens. I have no doubt it’s a dynamite exhibit: Cai Guo-Qiang’s quite inventive, theatric, plus friendly and professional to work with. Here’s the review from the New Yorker and a piece at Newsweek. This photo of an arrow-ridden tiger is from Roberta Smith’s New York Times review [photo credit: Librado Romero/The New York Times]:
And a link to the slideshow:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/02/22/arts/22cai-slideshow_4.html
Here’s a photo I took at MASS MoCA during 2004 the fabrication:
Just exactly why Ms. Smith doesn’t mention the immense contributions made by MASS MoCA and its staff and curatorial team in relationship to these artworks is sort of mysterious. The cars, exploding/fireworks videos, etc., were all part of Inopportune and were largely fabricated at MASS MoCA. [Correction: according to their website the cars installed at the Guggenheim are an 'exhibition copy' of Inopportune: Stage One, where the MASS MoCA fabricated set of cars, the original exhibit, is at the Seattle Art Museum. It's a fascinating idea that you could make a compelling copy of an installation that is this large and intense!]
Here is my friend Tom hanging on for dear life on a suspended car while wielding a huge drill (and yes I mean an actual drill), and another picture of the artist and my wife Laura Christensen lodged inside a car putting together the circuitry that powers the lights:
For some great blog articles on the Guggenheim exhibit, see Culturegrrl online, where the intrepid Lee Rosenbaum has placed many interesting behind-the-scenes photos and insightful discussions. She has also ridden the flume.
Click here for Cai Guo-Qiang’s well-designed website Click through to find photos and records from 2004 of Inopportune Stage One and Stage Two at MASS MoCA
Oh I don’t really mind, and hopefully MASS MoCA doesn’t either. NYTimes writer Smith is known for misrepresenting MASS MoCA. And this is really what MASS MoCA is so great at: commissioning large, new original works that can then travel elsewhere or inspire more. In any case I and many, many others got thanked in the Inopportune catalog, which just goes to show how classy Cai Guo-Qiang is. As for the new show, Guggenheim director Krens gave plenty comment to MASSMoCA in his opening and press statements — I figure at the scale and size of artmaking that Guo-Qiang is working, that there must be at least 200 or more people to mention per any one exhibit. Too much to write into just about any press piece. Just think of how many people will be involved when he does the Olympics. Considering that events like the Olympics will reach billions of audience members, I’ll wager, as many say, that Guo-Qiang will be looked on as one of the most influential artists of the 21st century.
Sorry my reply went into the wrong thread. I meant it for the
Cai Guo-Qiang thread.
Glad you spoke up about the fabrication work you all at MassMoCA did on this artwork when it was shown there.
Shame on whoever was responsible for not mentioning your extensive and difficult prior work in publicity that just came out about the Guggenheim show.