WE ARE: Explosion Event for PST ART
September 15, 2024
On July 8th, Getty announced that on September 15, 2024, Cai Guo-Qiang’s daytime fireworks, WE ARE: Explosion Event for PST ART will kick off the iconic Southern California event PST ART: Art & Science Collide. WE AREis commissioned and presented by Getty, in collaboration with the University of Southern California (USC).
Conceived and choreographed by Cai and his multimodal custom artificial intelligence, cAI™ (pronounced AI Cai), WE ARE will spread across the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which will be the world’s first venue to host the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies three times by 2028. Engaging over one thousand aerial drones, WE ARE will mark the first expansive daytime firework event featuring drone formation equipped with pyrotechnic products in US history, and an important starting point for cAI™ to grow into a “fireworks master.”
cAI™: An Artificial Intelligence Project
Originating from Cai Guo-Qiang’s artificial intelligence research that began in 2017, cAI™ (pronounced “AI Cai”) is a multi-modal AI model custom built by Cai and the studio, based on Cai’s long-established artistic philosophy and methodology.
cAI™ deep-learns from Cai’s artworks, archives, and areas of interest. It also emulates contemporary and historical figures Cai admires, developing distinct personas who can debate with each other, thereby forming an independent and free community.
cAI™ is not only an artwork of Cai’s, but also his partner for dialogue and collaboration. In the future, it may even create art by itself. cAI™ has launched and realized a series of important projects, through the commissions of top international art institutions/brands.
When the Sky Blooms with Sakura
June 26, 2023
On June 26th at 12:00 PM, Cai Guo-Qiang realized the daytime fireworks When the Sky Blooms with Sakura at Yotsukura Beach in Iwaki City, Japan, an area which had been devastated by the 2011 Japan earthquake and the resulting tsunami.
As part of a commitment to creative excellence beyond fashion—and driven by an admiration for Cai Guo-Qiang’s art and forward-thinking vision—Anthony Vaccarello commissioned the project for SAINT LAURENT. The project was organized by the Iwaki Executive Committee of When the Sky Blooms with Sakura.
Making History at TED2024: Cai Guo-Qiang “Speaks” English
April 16, 2024
On April 15, 2024, the 5-day TED2024 conference commenced in Vancouver, Canada. Marking the 40th anniversary of the organization’s founding, this year’s conference theme, “The Brave and the Brilliant,” centered on “celebrating creativity, ingenuity, courage, wisdom and generosity.”
For his talk, Cai utilized a custom-built AI model developed by metaphysic.ai to convert the live English interpretation of his Chinese speech in real time, using his own voice. This marked Cai’s first speech in English and also became the first instance in TED history of simultaneous interpretation using AI technology. The talk was received with a standing ovation.
View the full talk here
For additional exhibitions, please see our Calendar.