Cai Guo-Qiang's medium is one of China's most historically significant materials: gunpowder. The artist has gained art world fame for his gunpowder paintings and breathtaking pyrotechnic performances, including one at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Sky Ladder follows the creation of the artist's most recent, and perhaps most personal, work, a 1,650-foot ladder rigged with explosives that ascends to the sky with the help of a large balloon. Carried out at night in the artist's hometown for an audience of only a few hundred, the performance has since gained international attention. The film offers a close look at its creation from the perspective of the artist and his friends and family. This film is not rated (2016, 76 min.).
This film is part of Late Nights at the Dallas Museum of Art.