One of China’s most famous inventions, gunpowder—literally meaning “fire medicine” in Chinese—was originally discovered by ninth-century Taoist alchemists who were searching for an “elixir of immortality.” Over the years Cai has developed his use of this medium into elaborate explosions events. These projects are usually commissioned by museums, art biennials, or national and international agencies and are conceived as works of art with their own conceptual, allegorical, and metaphorical narratives.

Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957). Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia, 2005. Realized at Old Turia Riverbed Park, between Royal Bridge and Trinidad Bridge, Valencia, May 22, 2005, 12:05 pm, approximately 1 minute. 1,400 3-inch black smoke shells. Commissioned by Insitut Valencia d'Art Modern for the exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: On Black Fireworks

Cai’s explosion events operate as performances created for live public audiences, whose impact—thunderous bangs, fiery light, and smoke—conjures both violent chaos and ritual celebration. Each event is thoroughly documented through photographs, videos, and drawings.

By harnessing fire as an ancient and constant element of geological formation, social ritual, religious purification, and life’s destruction, Cai’s explosion events represent the artist’s central interest in both ancient and modern cosmological science.

In March 2004 Cai was invited to Valencia to discuss a possible project. On March 11, only three days before his departure for Spain, the city of Madrid suffered a terrorist attack, a series of coordinated commuter train bombings that killed 191 people and wounded more than eighteen hundred. This tragedy prompted the artist to develop Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia (2005), which, with its black fireworks that were specifically invented to explode in daylight, commemorate the victims of the train bombings by evoking the ritual of gun salutes that honor fallen soldiers lost in battle.

Cai inverted the brilliance of fireworks designed to explode against a dark night sky by exploding the black fireworks during the day. He has stated that Black Rainbow, like ancient smoke signals, signaled alarm. A somber and dreamlike salute, the ominous arc of smoke also served as a reminder that, despite contemporary associations of such materials with terrorism, explosives can possess ethereal and profound beauty.

The project in Valencia commenced at midday, unfolding in three successive rounds of explosions, perhaps alluding to the three train stations that were bombed during the busy morning rush hour. The black rainbow erupted against a blue sky, and then slowly dissolved leaving a dark cloud.

• Although the photograph documenting it cannot provide the experience of the explosion event itself, after reading the description and looking at the photo describe your reaction to this work.
• There are many possible symbolic interpretations for Black Rainbow: Explosion Project for Valencia. Read more about the terrorist attack that prompted Cai’s response. Also consider some of the ideas the artist incorporated into this explosion event, including associations with the color black, with explosions, and with rainbows. Then write a paragraph describing your considered response to this work.
• How is Cai’s use of fireworks for Black Rainbow similar to or different from fireworks displays that you have seen?
• Imagine that you are a resident of Valencia. Is this an event that you would have supported and attended? Explain.

• Consider how and why people mark important events in their country’s history. Research and discuss the history and rituals involved in various memorial events in the United States, including Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, and Pearl Harbor Day, or days that mark more recent tragedies such as the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11. Compare the way that such events are marked in comparison to celebratory events such as Independence Day.
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• Choose a national holiday or another day of remembrance and, working in groups, design a thoughtful and original way to commemorate the event. Diagrams, video and/or still images, recorded sound, three-dimensional models, and/or written texts may be incorporated into the presentations. Each group should come up with one agreed-upon design to share with the whole class.
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• In conjunction with another one of Cai’s explosion events, Tornado: Explosion Project for the Festival of China (2005), a comprehensive microsite was created that allows students to design their own explosion event.
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• The production of some of Cai’s explosion events involves the expenditure of great amounts of time and effort, as well as lots of money. All this productive energy is burned up in a flash. According to Cai the cost of these events is part of the work. “It’s a triumph of spiritual reality over material reality. Because money is a symbol of power, status, and privilege in our society, and exploding $200,000 worth in fifteen seconds is in itself a statement.” Discuss whether you agree or disagree with the artist’s statement.
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