Preview: Cai Guo-Qiang – “Sky Ladder” @ MOCA (Los Angeles)

Last Friday, one of China’s most famous contemporary artists finished creating his last commissioned gunpowder drawing for his upcoming exhibition, Sky Ladder, at the Los Angeles MOCA. Cai Guo-Qiang’s third explosive effort (see our coverage of first and second sessions) resulted in Childhood Spaceship, a monumental piece (13′ x 108′) that featured imagery and memories that have sparked the artist’s curiously as a youth.

For our readers who weren’t able to attend these sessions, make sure you head over for the public outdoor explosion event, Mystery Circle on the exterior wall of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (facing Temple Street) at 7:30pm on Saturday, April 7 which precedes the public opening of the exhibition on April 8th. The pyrotechnic extravaganza (see video of the one for Qatar) has three stages and is a testament to CGQ’s fascination with extraterrestrials. “At dusk, a myriad of flying saucer girandolas will rise from the rooftop. Then, countless mini rockets forming a string of crop circles will launch toward the audience before falling onto the ground in a matter of seconds. Finally, an imaginary alien-god figure on the left side of the wall will be outlined from bottom to top by gunpowder fuse.”

We’ll see you on April 7th and 8th, but for now check out the rest of the photos taken for us by ©Carlos Gonzalez after the jump…