Head On, 2006

Cai Guo Qiang, Chinese born 1958 

 

 

 

 

Head On, 2006, on display in 2008 at the Solomon R. Guggenheim, NY,

99 life-sized replicas of wolves made in Quanzhou town in Fujian Province, China, the artist’s native town;

 and a plexiglass wall.

Cai Guo Qiang, Chinese born 1958 

 

 

The stream of animals, which walked along side us up the Guggenheim’s ramp,

began to rise above us and,

flying above our heads in a tight pack, appeared as though about to crash forcefully into a plexiglass wall located at the top of the circular ramp.

 

The exhibition’s parochial meaning was the divide between the former West Germany and East Germany despite the Berlin Wall coming down more than 17 years before this work was made.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The artist said he also wanted “to portray the universal human tragedy resulting in our urge for upward mobility and advancement.”