Paris, September 16, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic gradually stabilizes and the world restores its energy, Cai Guo-Qiang’s daytime explosion event, The Birth of Tragedy, will be brought to a worldwide audience from Charente in Cognac, France via livestream on September 25th at 3 PM CET / 9AM EST. Twenty thousand shots of fireworks will be launched from 150 oak barrels floating on the river, to honor the universal values of resilience, courage, and hope, and to demonstrate mankind’s heroic faith in life and power after a strenuous feat.
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Cai Guo-Qiang, Sketch for The Birth of Tragedy, 2020
Pencil, marker, paper, 28 x 43 cm
Courtesy Cai Studio
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Inspired by Nietzsche’s “The Birth of Tragedy,” Cai Guo-Qiang composed a 15-minute, three-act fireworks event that unfolds as if a scroll of calligraphy, a piece of poetic writing, and an act of drama. It embodies various complex situations in life: solitary isolation, introspection, perseverance, as well as uplifting optimism. The explosion event honors the cycle of creation and destruction and the human spirit that, while acknowledging pain, nonetheless embraces and rejoices in life, in harmony with nature.
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Says Cai Guo-Qiang, “This work expresses my contemplation on tragedy. Tragedy is intrinsic to life and will always endure. Tragedy and the inevitable cycle of fate—birth, aging, illness, and death—are shackles which humanity seeks to leave behind in order to gain solace through the feeling of liberty and emancipation. This sense of tragedy is the essence of fate, of poetry, and of art… We are now entering a new chapter of humankind’s strenuous odyssey. The signal from Cognac, travelling through cloud infrastructure, connects individuals from different parts of the world, enabling primeval passion to burst forth and allowing us to embrace our nature to the fullest extent. I hope the audience will draw inspiration from these special fireworks in order to reconcile with nature and find the power to heal.”
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Cai Guo-Qiang, Proposal for The Birth of Tragedy, digital rendering, 2020
Courtesy Cai Studio
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This project represents the first time one of Cai’s daytime explosion events has been broadcast and narrated live to a global, real-time audience.
The Birth of Tragedy was commissioned as part of “A World Odyssey,” which marks Hennessy X.O’s 150th anniversary. Says Hennessy president and CEO Laurent Boillot, “Today, from his base in New York City, Cai Guo-Qiang reminds us of these time-honored bonds with a masterpiece of universal beauty and resonance. Cai offers an artistic vision of an Odyssey forged by unity, resilience, and hope. In the exceptional context of 2020, those values guide us, reminding us how far we’ve come, and how far we can still travel together. Hennessy and Cai are proud to welcome one and all to participate in an artistic event that honors generosity of spirit and looks to new horizons with renewed courage.”
Cai’s daytime explosion event will be staged using exclusively non-toxic, eco-conscious, CE-certified pyrotechnic products.
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Cai Guo-Qiang, test for The Birth of Tragedy, 2020
Photo by 33 Studio, courtesy Cai Studio
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Watch Live:
Hennessy.com
Facebook
YouTube
Tencent Video
September 25, 2020
3 PM CET / 9 AM EST
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Cai Studio
Website: www.caiguoqiang.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cgqstudio/
Instagram: @caistudio
WeChat: 蔡国强工作室
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