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China native Cai Gou-Qiang has exploded the conventional rules of art with his firecracker productions and visual art pieces.

You may recognize the name, Cai Gou- Qiang from the 2008 Olympics. Cai was the mastermind behind all special effects for the opening and closing ceremonies. He is recognized all over the world for his ability to create breathtaking firework displays. While many people can light firecrackers, only few can orchestrate such awe inspiring scenes.

Are you wondering how he acquired such a fascinating and seemingly dangerous talent?

It all began when Cai was young. Fireworks were easily accessible and he played with them often. The fun soon turned into an artistic experiment. However, Cai couldn’t have achieved such heights of success without a few errors.

His first attempt to create art using firecrackers came from his curiosity to see what would happen if he simply fired a rocket into a canvas. As you can imagine, this process only served to burn the canvas to pieces.

On Cai’s second attempt he removed the gunpowder from firecrackers. He then arranged the gunpowder on a blank canvas and lit it. The effect was stunning. It created an art form all its own.

Since then, Cai and his adventurous style of art continue to gain popularity. He has literally exploded conventional rules of art and how it can be created. Cai’s images of space, nature and time are supernatural in their fiery distortion.

For Cai, this artistic journey has been a personal one. His style serves to break conventional rules, and the world recognizes the uniqueness he brings to the art community. For Cai Gou- Qiang, this style of art is suspenseful and rewarding. He enjoys the adrenalin pumping process of working hard and hoping his pieces will turn out. You can bet, his audience agrees. Nothing can diminish the beauty or the sheer emotional thrill of watching Cai’s firework displays. Likewise, his gunpowder designs are just as intriguing and mesmerizing.

The artist, now 54, resides and works in New York.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-0404-fireworks-artist-20120404,0,4212742.story

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Cai Guo-Qiang’s Mystery Circle: Explosion Event for MOCA, LA Recap (hustlerofculture.com)
Exploding 40,000 Rockets at Once Is as Loud and Wonderful as You’d Think It Would Be [Video] (gizmodo.com)
A Video About Cai Guo Qiang’s Art Using Gunpowder and Explosives (hypebeast.com)

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In a previous blog post, we explained 3 ways that artists can benefit from blogging. Basically:

A blog provides exposure for you and your work.
A blog provides insight into your working process.
A blog facilitates connections between you and your fan base.

Now that you’ve set up your blog, what should you write about? Let’s take a look at a range of topics you can blog about to keep your readers interested in coming back for more!

Give your readers an inside glimpse into your studio. Show them what you’re working on and tell them about your working process – what inspires you, what materials and techniques you are using, what challenges and surprises you’ve encountered.

Show your readers a bit about your personal life – but not too much. An art blog is an ideal way to get “personal” with your fan base and potential gallery contacts. By including cute anecdotes about something you experienced or by sharing photos of your new dog, your blog readers will see you more as a real person than as a bunch of pixels on a screen.

At the same time, be careful not to get too personal. Be aware that everything you write can affect your image, so don’t write posts about what you ate for breakfast or what TV shows you watched last night. There is such a thing as “too much information”, so before you hit the “publish” button, ask yourself, “Does it help or hurt my art business if people know this about me?”

Plug your upcoming gallery shows, competitions you’ve entered, workshops you’re leading or attending, and any other art-related events. Your fan base will be interested in seeing that you are active in your field, so keep them updated on your artistic activities. It’s okay to toot your own horn, but try to avoid “sales talk”.

Write about things that inspire you. You can write about other artists you admire, your favorite place to paint, or a cloud formation that caught your eye on the way to the grocery store that you quickly captured in your sketchbook.

Provide tips about making art. By sharing what you’ve learned about art, you can help establish yourself as an expert in your field. Other artists will appreciate your openness and potential collectors will take note that other artists look up to you.

Above all, remember to make your art blog both friendly and professional. Think of your blog as a combination of:

an ongoing conversation with a trusted gallery owner whom you have known for years
a warm welcome to a new fan of your artwork
a chance for friendly art talk over a cup of virtual coffee

In other words, many different types of people will be interested in reading your art blog, so try to write with these various audiences in mind.

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