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CAI GUO-QIANG in

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In the twenty-first century

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My work is sometimes like the poppy flower

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It has this almost romantic side

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But yet, it also represents poison

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Gun powder

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From its very essence, you can see

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so much of the power of the universe
how we came to be.

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You can express these grand ideas
about the cosmos

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Very epic and heroic,

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but at the same time
it's used for such destruction.

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Gun powder possesses a physical danger
for anyone who is near it.

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But with time,
you get to know the material.

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First you have to accept
that it's uncontrollable.

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And then, work with it.

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I've worked with the material so long,

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that I've gained an understanding
of how it works

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My way of doing it
is just to flow with the material.

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To let,
it take me where it wants me to go.

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So I continuously want it to
give me problems.

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Give me obstacles to overcome.

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This whole process of making drawing
is very much like lovemaking.

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From the very beginning of
laying down the paper,

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it's like laying down
the sheets on the bed.

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And it's a very long process.

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Always working towards a final goal.

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And all the time there's this feeling
that you just want it to explode.

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to finish.

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But you're afraid
that maybe it's too early,

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maybe it's not the best time yet,

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maybe you need to work on it
a little more.

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And then afterwards,
you either have great satisfaction

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or you have disappointment as to
your entire performance.

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You can talk all day about the ancient
philosophies and modern philosophies

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art history, criticism, theory,
subject matter, historical context,

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contemporary, post-modernism, form,
representation.

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All these things can be discussed

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but in the end,

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it's really this on sight performance,
so to speak,

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that really makes a work.