The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA), Presents Mystery Circle Explosion Event and Exhibition Opening for Cai Guo-Qiang: Sky Ladder

WHEN:

Saturday, April 7, 2012

6:00pm

Press check-in begins

7:15pm

Remarks by MOCA Director Jeffrey Deitch, Dominic Ng, CEO East West Bank, and Cai Guo-Qiang

7:30pm

Mystery Circle explosion event

8:00-8:30pm

Group interviews with Cai; RSVP to [email protected]

8:00-9:00pm

Exhibition preview

WHERE:

The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA

152 North Central Avenue

Los Angeles, CA 90012

WHO:

Jeffrey Deitch, MOCA Director

Rebecca Morse, MOCA Curator

Cai Guo-Qiang, artist

Dominic Ng, CEO East West Bank

WHAT:

MOCA presents Mystery Circle, an outdoor explosion event that will open the exhibition Cai Guo-Qiang: Sky Ladder.

Mystery Circle, a site-specific work created for MOCA, will contain four stages of special pyrotechnics. At the moment of ignition, 40,000 mini rockets will form a string of crop circles and launch perpendicular to MOCA's north wall, toward Temple Street, before falling onto the ground. Amidst a curtain of smoke, approximately 100 spinning firework UFOs will sporadically appear from the parking lot grounds, while an imaginary alien-god figure on the left side of the wall is outlined from bottom to top by gunpowder fuses. When the burned fuses reach the "halo" of the figure, mini rockets will shoot into the air followed by Titanium Salutes for a grand finale. The rockets will create a burned imprint on the museum wall, leaving an outdoor drawing.

CONTACTS:

Lyn Winter, MOCA Director of Communications, 213/633-5390, [email protected]

Nancy Lee, MOCA PR Coordinator, 213/621-1788, [email protected]