Born in Beijing in 1957, artworks of Ai Wei Wei have created thorough debate in the contemporary artworld due to their controversial political criticism toward the physical manifestations of global power and Chinese social systems which undermine cultural integrity. Commonly reflecting his personal experiences of living through the Chinese Cultural Revolution in China, Ai’s use of historically significant objects such as Chinese urns, ceramics and bicycles which appear defamiliarized and displaced, act as conceptual symbols of cultural violence. ‘‘Forever’ Bicycles’ (2003) is an instillation which Ai composed using over 1500 steel bicycles, transforming them into an array of irregular shapes where the familiar objects are reworked into something …show more content…
The instillation appears as a typical Chinese supermarket with realistic dimensions (6 x 5,5 x 3,5 m), stocked with an array of branded products including toothbrushes, drinks, pot noodles and chewing gum, available for putative purchase by visitors. Ironically, however, the packages remain devoid of any contents, providing the interacting audience a with a shocking and comedic experience – one which forces them to ultimately consider the way that their social relations, everyday life, as well as contemporary cultural practices are influenced by the influx of aesthetical commodities. The supermarket, through its fluorescent lights and alluring Chinese brand labels which prove paradoxically insignificant, acts as a powerful metaphorical symbol of the Chinese political and social transformational process. Thus, through recontextualizing the false merchandise into a gallery setting and stripping the products of their defining qualities, Xu triggers immense debate over the illusory phenomenon of the art world, with critics articulating, “Xu’s provocative humour, provides a wry commentary on the values of the contemporary art world, where dazzling effect triumphs over substance.” (Young, M., Where I Work: Xu Zhen) The ephemeral status and subject matter of the instillation, as it was displayed in cities such as Shanghai, Brisbane and New York, furthered this societal debate, with certain critics alternatively expressing the work, “always appears to be in a constant state of flux – the path it takes is unpredictable and hard to pin down” (Shuhan, L., Xu Zhen: The Catcher of Consciousness) . Despite this, the largely positive global reception signified ‘ShanghArt Supermarket’ as an artwork which
For her first point of the “still-life on the counter” she argues that the objects on the counter are for “public consumption” and that the labels on the bottles
The purpose of The Last Train Home may seem identical to a typical documentary film, where the director sets out to raise awareness on a certain issue of importance. However, as the film progresses, the political subtext is revealed. The sincere intention of this film is to convey a message regarding the harmful effects that western consumerism has on the Chinese society. By doing so the director Lixin Fan, tries to make American viewers to sympathize with the problems of China’s industrial revolution, and feel partially responsible for supporting it through the products we
Controversial artists such as Mike Parr and Stelarc place emphasis on shock-value and meaning rather than traditional skills and aesthetics, and use their own bodies as a medium, while working with new mediums and technology such as video, performance, sound, and robotics. As Postmodern art continues to push the boundaries of what is - and isn’t acceptable as art, the general public is left to wonder ‘what comes next?’.
“It was not easy to live in Shanghai” (Anyi 137). This line, echoed throughout Wang Anyi 's short piece “The Destination” is the glowing heartbeat of the story. A refrain filled with both longing and sadness, it hints at the many struggles faced by thousands upon thousands trying to get by in the city of Shanghai. One of these lost souls, the protagonist, Chen Xin, was one of the many youths taken from his family and sent to live the in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Ten years after the fact, Chen Xin views the repercussions of the Cultural Revolution internally and externally as he processes the changes that both he, and his hometown have over-gone in the past ten years. Devastatingly, he comes to the conclusion that there is no going back to the time of his childhood, and his fond memories of Shanghai exist solely in memory. This is in large part is due to the changes brought on by the Cultural Revolution. These effects of the Cultural Revolution are a central theme to the story; with repercussions seen on a cultural level, as well as a personal one.
Ai Weiwei was born during the Cultural Revolution in China of 1950s, he inherited a lot of his political knowledge from his father who was a poet called Ai Quig. Ai Quig was then later exiled with his family to re-education camps on the out reaches of a desert in 1958 for questioning government authority. After the Cultural Revolution, Chinese citizens were allowed to travel outside their borders again in 1970s. As a young man, the place that Ai Weiwei dreamed about going to was New York. He went to New York and was exposed to its western influences, its liberty and freedom of expression (Springford, 2011).Using photography Weiwei recorded and documented everything that inspired him. Weiwei visited galleries and art museums that exposed him to the world of conceptual art, becoming influenced by Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp. Ai Weiwei admired the ways of artists who could simply proclaim what was art and what wasn’t art, how Duchamp questioned art and when something gets to be art (Springford, 2011).Ai Weiwei came back to China in 1993 to take care of his sick father, and found himself drawn to his responsibility as an artist, to take the task of re-awakening his country through his art and to expose his thoughts on the corrupt and controlling nature of China’s government (Philipson,2012). Ai Weiwei has always been an outspoken artist. In the course of his art making, Weiwei has used a form of activism in his art, with political ideologies that exist because of the Chinese government. He also uses a sense of memory and the countrys past and history. Most of his art involves the public and their outlook of the government. Weiwei requests engagement from the public as a show of protest in his artworks (Harris & Zucker, 2009). When...
“I don’t want to be part of this kind of denying reality. We live in this time. We have to speak out” (Klayman). Ai Weiwei is an internationally known Chinese artist as well as activist, and his motivation and determination can be summed up by this quote. In all of his pieces, Weiwei critically examines the social and administrative issues facing China today. Many of his works exhibit multiple themes that can be interpreted in various different ways. This lends itself to the universal appeal of his art and makes it a more effective medium of conveying his messages to viewers. Ai Weiwei’s activist artwork—and activist artwork in general—is important to society because it effectively forces the viewer to engage in a self-reflective process that makes the viewer critically examine his or her own beliefs and world. Nevertheless, censorship greatly hinders the dissemination of the critical and thought provoking messages of Ai Weiwei’s art and makes his artwork less effective. In order to gain a better understanding of the relationship of Ai Weiwei’s activist art and the Communist Party’s subsequent censorship, I will examine Ai Weiwei’s influential childhood, his specific brand of activist artwork, the censorship of the Chinese government and the effects of censorship on the effectiveness of Ai Weiwei’s art.
China’s Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (GPCR) is a well-documented period in world history, but the most profound records are found vivified in the literature and films later into the 20th century, respectively. One of the most profound novels is “To Live”, authored by Yu Hua, which as a fictional narrative offers both a unique and realistic sense of the time period at the individual level. However, the provocative film adaptation directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994 was formidable enough that it was banned in Mainland China. Zhang paints a more realistic picture of how the GPCR influenced Chinese society but adds zest to Hua’s ambiguity but acceptable imperfection. Naturally, the film has many different characteristics yet still manages to overcome the challenges that implicate film adaptations.
Interregnum, painted by the Chinese artist Hung Liu, is a massive oil painting created circa 2002. With the intentional application of several principles and elements of art in her work, Liu effectively depicts her late Asian culture’s traditional aspects while also exposing the harsh reality of China’s Communist society. Hung Liu incorporates a variety of styles into Interregnum while also utilizing color and line to visually communicate the subject matter to the viewer. In a formal interpretation of this work, the overarching theme of Interregnum will be explored and described, focusing on the particular values sought out by the artist Hung Liu.
1-31. Print. Clunas, Craig. " Chapter 3. " Art in China.
...a journey of discovery/rediscovery of what the Western world comes to mean, while at the same time, negotiating the redefinition of selfhood and national identity of Hong Kong. The will to search for a reconciliation with the West in these films is certainly deeply embedded in Hong Kong’s search for its own identity in the post-colonial era. After its return to its Chinese motherland, Hong Kong consequently takes up the important position as the bridge between China and the West. Many recognize that its success to find its identity as part of China in the future depends on its ability to come to terms with its colonial past. Indeed, as we have seen, both films positively insist on the possibility of fulfilling such an aspiration. The process is not a comfortable one, and it is often one of pain and risks. Yet the films assure that it is also one of promise and hope.
So I attempted to use this mentality whilst exploring the Highline, allowed the mindset to fill me with energy and then reflected on what I liked and didn’t like about the limitless attitude once I walked back towards Gansevoort Street. When I saw Kathryn Andrews’ “Sunbathers II” piece, I went inside the piece, and smiled while my cousin took a photo of me. I then continued to roamed through Chelsea while observing the people, billboards, paintings and the skyline, and was struck by the Sleepwalker sculpture. When Zadie Smith comes face-to-face with Corona’s “Find Your Beach” advertisement, she begins to analyze and find possible interpretations of the billboard sign. I then began to examine the Sleepwalker sculpture and discussed several potential inferences towards Manhattan the artwork might have with my cousin Michelle. I then got some stracciatella gelato, and Michelle got a coffee. With my recent purchases in hand, I was taken surprise by Andrews’ “Sunbathers I”. Michelle and I laughed
Mel Chin is a conceptual artist whose images are motivated by political, cultural and social issues. The idea behind these pictures is that it is most important for an idea to emerge from the picture. Conceptual artists are not as concerned with how visually pleasing
..., he acknowledges and reinterprets traditional Chinese art in his works. This is his mode of expression via shanshui tradition, and his ways of thinking, viewing and perceiving are infiltrated by the literati ethos. He works in the computer with his countless digital photographs, he creates virtual city landscape, combining the countless small format snapshots in a way that imitate the characteristic structure and composition of the classical shanshui. In his works, we can see that it always visualizes how China is developing and illustrates the consequences of modernization, globalization and the destruction of China’s ecological equilibrium caused by the speedy growth of its megacities over the past few decades. Yang said, “ The media… is not important, no matter what method you use to create, to maintain the creative spirit of the ancients is the most import.”1
... cannot be shared in the legal Chinese media. Moreover, despite the repeated refusal of the label “political poet,” political reading of his work remain an exasperating continual practice and fortunately for him, he cannot avoid being read by his Chinese readers against the social context of coeval China.
Using the object of the bicycle is key to the existence of maintaining that moral standing as it does for Guei. The film is a great reminder that while China is quite a rising power, this is not without a cost to its people. As a result, of the plan to "let a few people get rich first," the divides between the country and city folk and even urban poor and urban rich are constant reminders of China's rapid economic growth over the past few decades. The film resembles modern China—a prosperous nation where people living in cities with populations exceeding millions can be left isolated and alone to fend for themselves in dark, dank corners due to a failure to adapt to China’s industrialization, globalization, and modernization.