Flower made of fireworks will be displayed at Art Museum

At dusk on Friday evening, the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum will light up with an image of a flower made from fire. But look sharp – it will last for exactly one minute.

The pyrotechnic display will be in memory of the Museum's late director.

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Cai Guo-Qiang is a Chinese artist whose medium is gunpowder. He was invited by Art Museum director Anne d'Harnoncourt to create an exhibit. In 2008 she suddenly passed away. The work – called "Fallen Blossoms: Explosion Project" – is one part of a multi-site exhibit about memory and the passage of time.

In 2008 Cai designed the spectacular fireworks display for the Olympics in Beijing. Here he has designed a flower-shaped explosion on the steps of the Museum.

Guo-Qiang: The first section with be a gunpowder fuse – last four seconds, it will start at the center and move to periphery. The second section will be made of miniature flares sending white sparklers, make a white flower for 50 seconds. Last section will be made with explosion that sounds like thunder. It will be a continuous blow off for five seconds.

The explosion will take place Friday afternoon, around 4:15 p.m. Other, more stable works are on display at the Art Museum and the Fabric Workshop and Museum on Arch Street.