Cai Guo-Qiang - Odyssey

This commemorative book traces the creation of Odyssey, a monumental work by internationally acclaimed artist Cai Guo-Qiang (b. 1957). Best known for his innovative "explosion projects," Cai arranged, then ignited, gunpowder to produce a massive Chinese-style landscape across forty-two wood panels, which are now permanently installed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Cai produced Odysseywith the help of more than one hundred volunteers over five days in October 2010. Photographs documenting the process demonstrate Cai's working methods and the level of community involvement. Accompanying essays analyze Odysseyas a singular work of art, as a portal to the gallery and its other artworks, and as a collaboration among the artist, museum, and communities in Houston. Moreover, this breathtaking work offers a fresh way for viewers to encounter ancient and contemporary Chinese art.

Christine Starkman is curator of Asian art, ancient to contemporary, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Cai Guo-Qiang is a world-renowned contemporary artist. Susan Stewart is a poet and critic, and is currently Avalon Foundation University Professor in the Humanities and Director of the Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts at Princeton University.