In conjunction with the Association for Public Art’s world premiere of Fireflies, a large-scale, interactive work by Cai Guo-Qiang on Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway, we invited the artist to talk about ephemerality in relationship to temporary public art. “Artists and their works all have limits, but…when [the work engenders] a lot of participation from the public, it can become infinite,” Cai says.
With Center support, the Association for Public Art commissioned Cai Guo-Qiang to create Fireflies, on view September 14–October 8, 2017, as a celebration of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway’s centennial. Composed of 27 custom pedicabs adorned with 900 luminous lanterns, Fireflies was Cai’s largest public art project in the US in a decade. Watch Cai discuss audience participation in his public art.>
