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Image description: In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, one of the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will stage an “explosion event” on November 30 at 3 p.m. EST. 
If you’re in Washington, D.C., you can watch the event live from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on the National Mall. It will also be broadcast live online for everyone to watch.
The event combines pyrotechnics, artistry, and optical illusion in four dimensions.
This image is a sketch for the event. The Gallery describes it as

A live 40-foot-tall pine tree will erupt in an effervescent shimmer of fireworks as if in a tree-lighting ceremony, followed by a cascade of black ink-like smoke that mimics the flowing beauty of traditional Chinese brush drawings. The tree-shaped cloud of smoke drifting through the air will create a spectral scene of two trees, one real and one ethereal.

The site-specific staging is part of Cai’s larger series of “explosion events,” which have been featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC; Central Park in New York City curated by Creative Time; and numerous international institutions.

Image description: In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, one of the Smithsonian’s museums of Asian art, Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang will stage an “explosion event” on November 30 at 3 p.m. EST. 

If you’re in Washington, D.C., you can watch the event live from the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on the National Mall. It will also be broadcast live online for everyone to watch.

The event combines pyrotechnics, artistry, and optical illusion in four dimensions.

This image is a sketch for the event. The Gallery describes it as

A live 40-foot-tall pine tree will erupt in an effervescent shimmer of fireworks as if in a tree-lighting ceremony, followed by a cascade of black ink-like smoke that mimics the flowing beauty of traditional Chinese brush drawings. The tree-shaped cloud of smoke drifting through the air will create a spectral scene of two trees, one real and one ethereal.

The site-specific staging is part of Cai’s larger series of “explosion events,” which have been featured at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, DC; Central Park in New York City curated by Creative Time; and numerous international institutions.

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