This.. is positively odd. Hunting around online is just link after link without much info.. this has appeared on everything from the Telegraph, to we-make-money-not-art. It popped up in 2006 at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin and shows 99 wolves leaping through the air and crashing into a glass wall.
It’s an interesting piece, suggestive of pack mentality, but the choice of animal (suggestive of cunning qualities?) and seeming aggression points the finger at today’s society.. but there’s more to it.
The installation is by Cai Guo-Qiang, and is a commission for the Deutsche Bank Collection in Berlin. The other pieces of the set are of an exploding house and a drawing made from gunpowder, and are as abstract and seemingly unconnected as they sound. It’s a representation of Berlin’s history.. feel free to take it as literally as you wish, but like all great art, if it makes you think, even just for a second, about pretty much anything, then it’s doing it’s thing.
Interestingly, I remember reading a while ago about the art collection of Deutsche Bank.. the amount of art they collect and commission is through the roof - it wouldn’t surprise me if, in a couple of years, they’ll be a museum in their own right. The Hermitage has around 5% of it’s work on show at any time. Wouldn’t it be a nice thought if art became truly free, and there was one gigantic museum country where everyone donated all their fantastic work to, where everything was freely on display for everyone. Heady concept, I know, but it’s a nice dream.
More info at db artmag.
