“Ever since September 11th the idea of terrorism is always on our minds. It's ever so present.
Inopportune has a direct reference to these conditions that we live in now.”
Excerpt from an interview between Cai Guo-Qiang and Art21 Team
Inopportune: Stage One
~Janette Rathbun
The first time I saw “Inopportune: Stage One” by Cai Guo-Qiang I wrote this in my field
journal:
“Ford Taurus Exhibit[sic]: The blinking LED lights are evocative
of the sparks that fly on the assembly lines in Detroit.”
In my mind, before I had read anything the creator of this work had to say, I envisioned
the installation (which, incidentally, consists of 9 white Ford sedans, some of which are
suspended from the ceiling, overhanging the ticketing booths on the second floor of the Seattle
Art Museum,) as a statement on finding art in the everyday places we often overlook: the
automobiles we drive, the jobs that we do.
Being from Detroit, and having “motor oil in my veins” as the saying goes, I saw the cars
and the tubes of light emanating from them as a symbol of industry, a reminder of the labor that
goes into the consumer items we use every day – an examination of where our finished products
come from before they reach us. These tubes containing lights originate from a central location
inside of each car, and they blink in pre-patterned colors and sequences, making it look as
though sparks or fireworks are spraying from within. As I mentioned in my field journal, I
thought this was reminiscent of the sparks that fly on the assembly line when auto components
are being welded together. Given my imagined symbolism for this installation, I felt that the art
would have perhaps been more understood in the context of a Detroit-area art museum, rather
than thousands of miles away, in a museum on the west coast.
“Inopportune: Stage One” is one work of art that every visitor to the Seattle Art Museum
is guaranteed to see. The beginning and the end vehicles in the 9-car sequence are positioned at
either entrance to SAM – one city block apart. The rest are elevated, floating on their suspended
cables above the heads of the patrons who come and go in the museum every day. A work of art
on this scale must have been highly regarded when it was acquired from the artist in 2006 – it was
a gift from Mr. Robert M. Arnold, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum.
When the museum was re-opened in 2007 after a lengthy overhaul, it was Cai Guo-Qiang's
enormous work that took pride of place in the airy, multi-leveled lobby(1).
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1. SAM Collection Closeups: Inopportune: Stage One. Http://seattleartmuseum.org/SAMCollection
©2011 Seattle Art Museum.
But what does “Inopportune: Stage One” mean to the artist himself?
Chinese born Cai Guo-Qiang has been interested in violence through the history of his artistic
career(2). Exploring gunpowder in his early works of art, he moved on to installation pieces such
as Inopportune: Stage One, which, for him, evokes car bombings, explosions, terrorism, war and
destruction(3).
The very nature of art is, I believe, illustrated in this example. When I look at
Inopportune: Stage One, I see construction. I see the raising up and the building of cities around
assembly lines. It wasn't just automobiles that were built on those lines, it was families and cities
and towns, an entire way of American life. That being said, Cai Guo-Qiang, the artist, sees and
attempts to convey destruction. Not just the destruction of a physical object, be it a building or
an automobile, but the destruction of ideals, individuals, and a way of life.
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2. Noel, Y.C.: NYC Loves NYC Blog http://nyclovesnyc.blogspot.com/2008/03/inopportunestage-one-cai-guo-qiangs.html
3. PBS Art 21: PBS Art in the 21st Century Films, © 2005 http://www.pbs.org/art21/films
The main purpose in making art is to have fun and to redefine the nature of objects. Where are the
limits when an object becomes a work of art?
~ Cai Guo-Qiang, artist.