Cai Guo-Qaing’s Big Bang Thwarted at LongHouse Reserve

By 7:05 PM, just when a “Fountain of Color” explosion event was planned to surprise guests at the cocktail hour and art viewing at LongHouse Reserve’s gala on Saturday, organizers had to announce instead that because of extremely dry weather conditions, Cai Guo-Qaing’s artistic contribution would not occur. Of course the irony was not missed: by dinner time it had begun to rain—lightly—and umbrellas were distributed as Cai, game and animated, displayed his designs for the explosion.

 Cai Guo-Qaing, known for his “Sky Ladder,” was honored at the dinner alongside Alexandra Munroe, curator at the Guggenheim Museum of his 2008 exhibition at the Guggenheim, among many others including the inspired 2009 exhibition, “The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia 1860 -1989,” a visual exploration of the influence of Eastern thought on Western art. The title comes from a William S. Burroughs/ Brion Gysin collaboration, and an aesthetic that the union of two becomes a third artistic entity. This theory goes well with LongHouse’s global vision, seen in the international focus of the art, and illustrated too in the performances at this LongHouse benefit: Gian Carlo Feleppa, The Brooklyn Peaches, Mohsen Namjoo, and Royal Khaoz.

Boom! The Cosmic LongHouse Benefit also celebrated founder Jack Lenor Larsen’s 90^th birthday. Attendees included Laurie Anderson, Robert Wilson, Ralph Gibson, Florence Fabrikant, Fern Mallis, Nicole Miller, Susan Wood Richardson, and April Gornik, chair of a committee raising funds to rebuild the Sag Harbor Cinema. They raised $5 million for a new Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center, she said, and feels confident they will raise the rest.

Regina Weinreich

Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura