Wk 2- Art Essay- Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei

About the Artist

Ai Wei wei was born and currently resides in Beijing China. He in a contemporary artist. Most of his art is inspired by as political activism against the Chinese government. He is a political activist and is known in many countries for this. In 1978, Weiwei studied animation at the Beijing Film academy and participated in many shows. In 1981, he moved the the United states where he attended several universities such as the University of Pennsylvania and Berkeley for English, Parsons School of Design, and Art Students League of New York. Ai Weiwei never finished school, rather he dropped out and worked on the streets to make a living. He is a living artist today.

Formal Analysis

Knowing that Weiwei's artwork are supposed to be opposing the Chinese Government, Weiwei's work has a powerful meaning to it. Most of his artwork are neutrally toned, although there are some pieces where there are bright colors. His artwork called "Dropping of a Han-Dynasty Urn" is a black and white picture. Weiwei uses sculptures, pictures of his actions, film, music, and architecture as his media. Most of his sculptures are massive, so when you stand next to them you do get a gut reaction. For example, his sculpture called "Bang" consists of a bunch of stools that are stacked and mixed together. When you look at this, you can't help but be surprised by what you are seeing. A lot of his sculptures are very unorganized, like the "Bang" sculpture that I just described. They are very disorderly. A lot of his sculptures consist of items that you would normally find in your life, like bicycles, vases, and stools.

"Bang"- 2013

 Analysis

Weiwei's artwork has to do with the Chinese authoritarian government. A lot of his artwork is considered controversial to the Chinese government because it rebels against it or it brings to light the controversies that goes on. His art work brings to light the problems of chinese politics and social problems. For example, his artwork "Dropping of a Han-Dynasty Urn", it represents him wanting to move away from the past ways. It shows that the chinese government is still very old fashioned and he wants to move away from that. This is shown by dropping and destroying an old urn. 

"Dropping of a Han-Dynasty Urn"

Another artwork of his that talks about the Chinese government is "Surveillance Camera". He has some of these sculptures outside of his studio. This shows that the Chinese government is always watching you, almost like the book "1984" by George Orwell. It also shows that they know and are watching the people who rebel against the government, like Weiwei is doing. Overall, his artwork is trying to explore the flaws of the Chinese government and the changes that it needs to go through to match the rest of the modern world. 

Forever Bicycles

Weiwei's recent artwork in Austin is called "Forever Bicycles". It has 1,200 bicycles stacked on top of each other. This was inspired by his childhood, because in Beijing people use bicycles for transportation. Bicycles were hard for the poor to obtain. 

Synthesis / My Experience

I am half Chinese. To me, this artwork really hits me because it shows me how the China isn't like the United States. I've always thought that the Chinese government was different, but not bad. His artwork shows me, and probably other people that looks at them, how flawed the Chinese government is. It also hits me because it shows me what my paternal grandparents went through when they lived in China. It's good to know that they are living in the United States now and are having a better life. For example, Weiwei's sculpture that consisted of 1,200 bicycles showed me how simple things like bikes were a luxury for my grandparents. It's very humbling to see his art.