September 5, 2006: 99 wolves crash into glass
 

http://cellar.org/2006/headon1.jpg

From the "cool art" dep't:

It's 99 life-sized wolves, made over a period of six months out of sheepskin, straw, and other such materials. They crash into a thick pane of glass and tumble in confusion onto the floor. The lead animals are the ones crashing, but clearly the pack is headed for the smackdown as well.

http://cellar.org/2006/headon2.jpg

It's called "Head On", one part of a three-part installation by Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang, made as a commissioned piece for the Deutsche Bank Collection in Berlin.

http://cellar.org/2006/headon3.jpg

http://cellar.org/2006/headon4.jpg

From the press release:

Only a chinese artist...

Cool idea, though, I guess..

Woah! That's incredibly realistic. Why the hell did they need 99 wolves though... they could have done just as well with thirty or forty.

One for each bottle of beer on the wall.

Oh so do we keep cutting them down and eating them?

"99 life-sized wolves, made over a period of six months out of sheepskin..."

Wolves in sheep's clothing?

One at a time, one at a time...

No, it's sheep that got plastic surgery to look like wolves!

It's so you get "99 Red Balloons" in your head for the rest of the day:

99 life sized wolves
floating in the summer sky
etc
:notworthy

I like this display a lot. I don't really understnad what it's supposed to mean, but I like it still. I really like it that the wolves are made from sheep. I don't know if the artist meant it to be funny, but it is.

Reminds me of a Cabella's store!

I hope it doesn't mean anything. Its just cool!

Very dramatic, lots of movement and energy.

Could it be a metaphor for the anticipated influx of Eastern Europeans into Western Europe with the glass representing the economic divide?

I'm sure the Berlin wall was an influence, what with it's location and all.

Hate it.

Red headed stranger visiting today?

Someone should put an adorable stuffed kitty on the other side of the glass.

Or a little pig dressed as a construction worker. "The fourth little pig built his house out of wolf-proof glass. He's safe as long as he doesn't throw stones."

This piece of art may well be better than the lass with the ex-pig, you know.

They sure went to a lot of trouble to make them look like 99 different wolves. I like it. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Is this some kind of reference to being on the rag? If it is, it's a new one for me. I've heard riding the cotton pony, Aunt Flo visiting...but never that one.

That said, I just don't like violence in my visual art. Esp. animal violence. The piece makes the wolves look stupid. I'm allowed to not like it without speculation as to my mood or cycle, aren't I?

whatever you've got, pass it on over!! :joint:

Oh. My. God! Disturbing but funny. Metaphor for the human race?

And bugger! Sundaegirl was right. I just caught myself whistling '99 Red Balloons'. Damn the Chinese, so that's their master plan for world domination, not communism but communal whistling of dodgy German tunes! Inscrutable bastards! :)

Sure and I can make a poorly received joke can't I?

From the arts 21 site http://www.pbs.org/art21/series/seasonthree/power.html, last season's episode about artists and working with themes of power.

Art, if it's any good, means more than one thing. And the meanings constantly change over time and are dependent on the persons making the meaning. The artist's intention is just one of a great many possibilites, not the one right reading. Some interpretations maybe more interesting than others, thats what the conversation is about. Cool work. It reminds me of predators, herds, migration, contellations, epic war, grimms tales, warnings, road kill, extinction, natural history diaramas. The fact that in real life it would totally surround you and overwhelm you, add a cool element of intimidation.

But let's ask Uggg. :)

Yes, of course. Sorry.

Cool.

I can't really explain why, but I really like it. And as a general rule, I don't like installation art. In fact, I can only think of one other "art" IOTD that I've ever liked: the curtain of rainbow-colored hanging balls a couple of weeks ago.

I like the idea of an airborne flow of animals. And the ones running into the glass just make me laugh every time I think about it--like they're not hurt, just humiliated. Embarassed wolves are funny.

Ever read Neil Gaiman's "The Wolves in the Walls"?

Yep. The kids love it. "The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish" is good too, but they prefer the wolves. :)

My favourite one is 'fallen to the communists'. P

Ha ha cute. I'll try that on Pete in oh... 19 days or so.

I would suggest you keep your mouth shut and make yourself scarce, in 19 days or so.:lol:

This art display is obviously a warning to those who are thinking about building a wolf cannon to take over the world.

:D

This is sick and twisted.

Yes! I bought three copies in the end - one for me, one for my nephew for Christmas and one for the charity book scheme our bookshop runs.

Keeping Mr Gaiman in the gothic splendour he has become accustomed to.....

Gaiman is teh pwnage. American Gods, Good Omens...

.... The Sandman, Coraline...

I'm hopeful that the Coraline and Stardust movies will be good.

Wolves OF sheep's clothing.