The connection with the object ‘Stairs’ by the mysterious 17th century artist Hercules Segers, narrated by John Malkovich, projected on a 9 meter wide stairs, is easy. I had the connection in the back of my mind but made room for Daniel’s fantastic tip about Hercules Segers. The original idea was to connect Bruce Nauman’s ‘Untitled’ with the work of New York based Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. He found a unique way to express his love to his grandmother: a gigantic staircase in the air.
Pic shows: The firework display fullfiled by a Chinese artist in the shape of a ladder that extends up into the sky. A well-known Chinese artist and pyrotechnic enthusiast this week fulfilled his decades-old dream of creating a firework display in the shape of a ladder that extends up into the sky. Cai Guo-Qiang, a native Quanzhou City of south-east Chinas Fujian Province, put on display the art piece known as the “Sky Ladder” in his Chinese hometown. Having grown up as a child in the coastal city just across the Straits from Taiwan, Cai became accustomed to hearing explosions as Mainland artillery batteries traded fire with Nationalist batteries on the other side. It left him with a fascination of explosions and although his latest project lasted only 80 seconds it took weeks of hard work to realise and years of planning. The 57-year-olds “Sky Ladder” is a 500 metre-high structure made from wires laced with fireworks, which was hoisted into the sky by a large weather balloon. Guoqiangs team of hundreds of experts spent countless hours planning the project, but for the artist himself, “Sky Ladder” has been a 21-year-long dream. Guoqiangs first attempt at his “Sky Ladder” came in 1994, when he launched a similar balloon into the sky. However, strong winds twice felled his balloon, causing him to ultimately suspend the project. When Shanghai hosted the APEC summit in 2001, Guoqiang planned to launch the “Sky Ladder” once more, but his plans fell through once more after the events of September 11 restricted access to the skies. This week, Guoqiang dedicated the successful launch of his “Sky Ladder” fireworks to his grandmother, a very important individual in his life who recently celebrated her 100th birthday. Guoqiang says his grandmother was and always will be the first collector of his art, constantly keeping his drawings since the age of two. (ends)
The stunning photograph shows the 1,650ft ladder, which was made with fireworks, stretch right up into the sky in Quanzhou, south-eastern China. The artist who is originally from the city of Quanzhou.
You can see the documentary ‘Sky Ladder’ on Netflix and the trailer here:
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