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Ai Weiwei: A Study of Perspective
Author: Dr. Anya Petrova, Associate Professor of Art History and Visual Culture at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Petrova specializes in contemporary Chinese art and its socio-political contexts, with a particular focus on the intersection of art, activism, and technology. She has published extensively on Ai Weiwei's work and is a recognized expert in the field.
Keywords: Ai Weiwei study of perspective, Ai Weiwei art, perspective in art, Ai Weiwei's political art, Chinese contemporary art, Ai Weiwei installations, Ai Weiwei photography, Ai Weiwei's social commentary, Ai Weiwei's use of perspective, Ai Weiwei's artistic techniques.
Publisher: Routledge, a leading academic publisher known for its high-quality research publications in the humanities and social sciences. Routledge has a strong reputation for rigorous peer-review processes and its commitment to publishing cutting-edge scholarship.
Editor: Dr. Jian Li, Professor of Asian Art History at Columbia University. Dr. Li has significant expertise in contemporary Chinese art and has edited several books on prominent Chinese artists, including Ai Weiwei.
Introduction: Deconstructing Reality Through the Lens of Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei's artistic practice is a profound exploration of perspective, not merely as a technical element of visual art, but as a crucial tool for engaging with power, politics, and the complexities of human experience. This Ai Weiwei study of perspective delves into the multifaceted ways in which he manipulates, challenges, and subverts traditional notions of viewpoint, both literally and metaphorically, to create powerful and thought-provoking artworks. His work transcends the purely aesthetic, acting as a potent form of social commentary and political critique. This analysis will explore how his use of perspective functions as a central strategy in his artistic production, revealing the artist's deliberate engagement with both the physical and conceptual dimensions of sight and understanding.
Ai Weiwei's Mastery of Physical Perspective: From Photography to Installation
Ai Weiwei's Ai Weiwei study of perspective is evident in his masterful use of photographic techniques. He frequently employs unconventional angles and viewpoints, often distorting scale and perspective to disrupt the viewer's expectations and challenge established norms. His photographs, like those within the series Straight, aren't just documentation; they are meticulously composed statements, using perspective to highlight the fragility and imperfection within seemingly solid structures, reflecting broader social and political realities. The subtle shifts in perspective, the unexpected close-ups, and the wide panoramic views all contribute to a sense of unease and disorientation, mirroring the complexities of contemporary China.
This manipulation of perspective extends to his large-scale installations. Works like Sunflower Seeds (millions of individually handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds filling an entire gallery space) and Fairytale (1001 chairs arranged in various configurations) challenge the viewer's ability to comprehend the entirety of the artwork at once. The viewer is forced to navigate the piece, constantly shifting their position and adjusting their perspective to grasp its magnitude and complexity. This physical act of navigating the work mirrors the often challenging and disorienting journey of understanding the social and political climate Ai Weiwei seeks to critique. This is a crucial aspect of his Ai Weiwei study of perspective.
Conceptual Perspective: Challenging Power Structures and Narratives
Beyond the physical manipulation of perspective, Ai Weiwei's Ai Weiwei study of perspective extends into the realm of the conceptual. He consistently challenges dominant narratives and power structures, forcing viewers to reconsider their own perspectives and biases. His work acts as a mirror reflecting the societal structures, revealing their inherent inequalities and flaws. For example, his work related to the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, notably his documentation of the shoddy school construction that led to immense loss of life, utilizes perspective to highlight the government's negligence and the suffering of its people. The stark contrast between the official narrative and Ai Weiwei's powerfully visual counter-narrative demonstrates the crucial role perspective plays in shaping our understanding of events.
His use of social media further exemplifies this conceptual approach to perspective. Ai Weiwei strategically utilizes platforms like Twitter and Instagram to disseminate his art and political messages directly to a global audience, circumventing traditional media control and fostering a sense of shared understanding and participation. He skillfully utilizes the perspective offered by digital platforms to directly engage with and challenge established power structures, thereby influencing public opinion and expanding the discourse around human rights and social justice. This forms a key part of his Ai Weiwei study of perspective.
The Fragility of Perspective: Uncertainty and Ambiguity
Ai Weiwei’s works often embrace ambiguity and uncertainty, reflecting the inherent complexities of truth and perspective. There's no single, fixed viewpoint offered; instead, the viewer is left to grapple with multiple interpretations and potentially conflicting perspectives. This ambiguity isn't a weakness but a strength, forcing viewers to actively engage with the work and reflect on their own biases and assumptions. This process of active engagement is central to his Ai Weiwei study of perspective and allows his art to transcend simplistic readings. He challenges the idea of a singular, objective truth, emphasizing the subjective and ever-shifting nature of perception.
The Global Context: Universal Themes Through a Chinese Lens
While deeply rooted in the specific socio-political context of China, Ai Weiwei's Ai Weiwei study of perspective transcends geographical boundaries. His themes of censorship, human rights, and the abuse of power resonate universally. His art serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost of authoritarianism and the importance of individual expression and freedom of speech, appealing to a global audience that shares similar concerns. His work transcends cultural limitations because its core messages – the struggle for truth, the importance of critical thinking, and the pursuit of justice – are fundamental to the human experience.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Perspective-Shifting Art
Ai Weiwei's artistic legacy is indelibly marked by his innovative and profound exploration of perspective. Through his masterful manipulation of both physical and conceptual viewpoints, he challenges audiences to question their assumptions, confront uncomfortable truths, and engage actively with the world around them. His Ai Weiwei study of perspective isn't just an artistic technique; it’s a critical methodology for engaging with power, understanding social realities, and ultimately, contributing to a more just and equitable world. His art remains a testament to the power of art as a catalyst for change, a tool for challenging established norms, and a means of fostering a more nuanced and critical understanding of the human experience.
FAQs
1. What is the significance of Ai Weiwei's use of perspective in his art? Ai Weiwei uses perspective not just as a technical element but as a means of social and political commentary, challenging dominant narratives and forcing viewers to reconsider their own biases.
2. How does Ai Weiwei's work relate to Chinese politics? His art directly criticizes the Chinese government's actions, particularly regarding censorship, human rights abuses, and political repression.
3. How does Ai Weiwei utilize different mediums to explore perspective? He uses photography, sculpture, installation art, and digital media to manipulate perspective, from altering camera angles to creating large-scale installations that demand viewer movement.
4. What is the role of ambiguity in Ai Weiwei's exploration of perspective? Ambiguity is crucial; it forces viewers to engage actively with the work and to confront the inherent complexities of truth and interpretation.
5. How does Ai Weiwei's use of social media contribute to his study of perspective? He uses social media to bypass traditional media control and directly engage with global audiences, expanding the reach of his political and artistic messages.
6. What are some specific examples of Ai Weiwei's works that demonstrate his manipulation of perspective? Straight, Sunflower Seeds, Fairytale, and his documentation of the Sichuan earthquake aftermath are prominent examples.
7. How does Ai Weiwei's work relate to contemporary art movements? His work transcends specific movements but resonates with conceptual art, political art, and installation art.
8. What is the impact of Ai Weiwei's work on global discourse? His work has significantly impacted discussions on human rights, censorship, and the role of art in political activism on a global scale.
9. Where can I find more information about Ai Weiwei and his art? His official website, reputable art museums' websites featuring his works, and academic journals are excellent resources.
Related Articles:
1. Ai Weiwei's Straight: A Photographic Exploration of Perspective and Power: This article analyzes Ai Weiwei’s Straight series, focusing on how the subtle shifts in perspective reveal the flaws within China's infrastructure and societal structures.
2. The Political Activism of Ai Weiwei: Art as a Tool for Social Change: This article explores Ai Weiwei's role as a political activist and how his artistic practice is intricately interwoven with his political engagement.
3. Ai Weiwei and the Sichuan Earthquake: A Study in Documentary and Grief: This article examines Ai Weiwei's response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, highlighting how his documentation challenges official narratives and reveals the human cost of political negligence.
4. Deconstructing Authority: Ai Weiwei's Use of Scale and Proportion: This article analyzes how Ai Weiwei manipulates scale and proportion to create a sense of disorientation and to challenge viewers' established perceptions of power and authority.
5. The Global Impact of Ai Weiwei's Art: A Transnational Perspective: This article examines the global reach and influence of Ai Weiwei's work, analyzing its resonance across different cultural and political contexts.
6. Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds: An Installation that Challenges Perception: A detailed analysis of the Sunflower Seeds installation, focusing on its impact on viewer experience and how it manipulates perspective through scale and physical interaction.
7. The Role of Technology in Ai Weiwei's Art: This article explores the artist's utilization of technology, particularly social media, as a tool for artistic expression and political activism.
8. Ai Weiwei's Artistic Techniques: A Comparative Analysis: This article provides a comprehensive overview of Ai Weiwei’s artistic techniques across various mediums, highlighting his consistent engagement with perspective.
9. Ai Weiwei's Fairytale: A Study in Repetition, Arrangement, and Meaning: This article analyzes Ai Weiwei's Fairytale installation, focusing on how repetition and arrangement contribute to the overall meaning and the manipulation of perspective through viewer navigation.
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Humanity Ai Weiwei, 2018-04-24 Writings on human life and the refugee crisis by the most important political artist of our time Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) is widely known as an artist across media: sculpture, installation, photography, performance, and architecture. He is also one of the world's most important artist-activists and a powerful documentary filmmaker. His work and art call attention to attacks on democracy and free speech, abuses of human rights, and human displacement--often on an epic, international scale. This collection of quotations demonstrates the range of Ai Weiwei's thinking on humanity and mass migration, issues that have occupied him for decades. Selected from articles, interviews, and conversations, Ai Weiwei's words speak to the profound urgency of the global refugee crisis, the resilience and vulnerability of the human condition, and the role of art in providing a voice for the voiceless. Select quotations from the book: This problem has such a long history, a human history. We are all refugees somehow, somewhere, and at some moment. Allowing borders to determine your thinking is incompatible with the modern era. Art is about aesthetics, about morals, about our beliefs in humanity. Without that there is simply no art. I don't care what all people think. My work belongs to the people who have no voice. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The Original Copy Roxana Marcoci, Geoffrey Batchen, Tobia Bezzola, 2010 Published in conjunction with the exhibition The original copy: photography of sculpture, 1839 to today, at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (August 1-November 1, 2010)--T.p. verso. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows Ai Weiwei, 2022-09-13 The “intimate and expansive” (Time) memoir of “one of the most important artists working in the world today” (Financial Times), telling a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process “Poignant . . . An illuminating through-line emerges in the many parallels Ai traces between his life and his father’s.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, BookPage, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation’s most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing, was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as “Little Siberia,” where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets. Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile, and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America, where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp. With candor and wit, he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist—and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime. Ai Weiwei’s sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe, and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing. His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities, which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011. Here, for the first time, Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father, whose creativity was stifled. At once ambitious and intimate, Ai Weiwei’s 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows offers a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China, and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei: Sunflower Seeds Juliet Bingham, 2013-09-05 Born in Beijing in 1957, Ai Weiwei is one of the most influential artists at work today and has exhibited widely in Asia, Europe and North America. He is the first artist living and working in the Asia-Pacific region to be commissioned as part of The Unilever Series to create an artwork for the vast Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. Ai Weiwei has said liberty is about the right to question everything. His works in a wide range of media are characterized by social and political engagement and a constantly enquiring mind. Whether as an artist, curator, critic, designer or architect, he has played a key part in contemporary Chinese art and culture of the past two decades, not least through his collaboration with architects Herzog & de Meuron in designing the 'Bird's Nest' stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.This book provides important insights into the creative processes of this exciting and dynamic contemporary artist. The ebook includes two specially made films. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Weiwei-isms Ai Weiwei, 2012-12-01 The quotable Ai Weiwei This collection of quotes demonstrates the elegant simplicity of Ai Weiwei's thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics, and life. A master at communicating powerful ideas in astonishingly few words, Ai Weiwei is known for his innovative use of social media to disseminate his views. The short quotations presented here have been carefully selected from articles, tweets, and interviews given by this acclaimed Chinese artist and activist. The book is organized into six categories: freedom of expression; art and activism; government, power, and moral choices; the digital world; history, the historical moment, and the future; and personal reflections. Together, these quotes span some of the most revealing moments of Ai Weiwei's eventful career—from his risky investigation into student deaths in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to his arbitrary arrest in 2011—providing a window into the mind of one of the world's most electrifying and courageous contemporary artists. Select Quotes from the Book: On Freedom of Expression Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it. A small act is worth a million thoughts. Liberty is about our rights to question everything. On Art and Activism Everything is art. Everything is politics. The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay. Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don't feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy. On Government, Power, and Making Moral Choice Once you've tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country. I feel powerless all the time, but I regain my energy by making a very small difference that won't cost me much. Tips on surviving the regime: Respect yourself and speak for others. Do one small thing every day to prove the existence of justice. On the Digital World Only with the Internet can a peasant I have never met hear my voice and I can learn what's on his mind. A fairy tale has come true. The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It's as simple as that. The Internet is the best thing that could have happened to China. On History, the Historical Moment, and the Future If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future. We need to get out of the old language. The world is a sphere, there is no East or West. Personal Reflection I've never planned any part of my career—except being an artist. And I was pushed into that corner because I thought being an artist was the only way to have a little freedom. Anyone fighting for freedom does not want to totally lose their freedom. Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei - 40th Anniversary Edition Hans Werner Holzwarth, 2020-04-15 Renowned for his political remarks and social media activity almost as much as for his art, which is based on social interventions, contemporary approach to the readymade, and knowledge of Chinese traditional crafts, Ai Weiwei's fame extends throughout and beyond the art world. Drawn from TASCHEN's Limited Edition, this monograph explores each... |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The Political Space of Art Benoît Dillet, Tara Puri, 2016-05-18 This book studies the tension between arts and politics in four contemporary artists from different countries, working with different media. The film directors Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne film parts of their natal city to refer to specific political problems in interpersonal relations. The novelist Arundhati Roy uses her poetic language to make room for people’s desires; her fiction is utterly political and her political essays make place for the role of narratives and poetic language. Ai Weiwei uses references to Chinese history to give consistency to its ‘economic miracle’. Finally, Burial’s electronic music is firmly rooted in a living, breathing London; built to create a sound that is entirely new, and yet hauntingly familiar. These artists create in their own way a space for politics in their works and their oeuvre but their singularity comes together as a desire to reconstruct the political space within art from its ruins. These ruins were brought by the disenchantment of 1970s: the end of art, postmodernism, and the rise of design, marketing and communication. Each artwork bears the mark of the resistance against the depoliticisation of society and the arts, at once rejecting cynicism and idealism, referring to themes and political concepts that are larger than their own domain. This book focuses on these productive tensions. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Andy Warhol, Ai Weiwei John J. Curley, 2015 This stunning publication is the first to examine in tandem the work and influence of two towering figures in contemporary art Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) are two of the most internationally renowned artists of the past 100 years, famous not only for their artwork but also for influencing the culture of their time. This exciting book is the first to consider the work of these artists alongside one another, in dialogue and in correspondence, to explore the artists' meticulous observations of modern and contemporary art, life, and politics. Andy Warhol's investigation of consumer society, fame, and celebrity offers thought-provoking points of connection with Ai Weiwei's interrogation of the relationship between tradition and modernity, the role of the individual to the state, questions of human rights, and the value of freedom of expression. Parallels also exist between the ways in which each artist transformed the understanding of artistic value and studio production, and redefined the role of the artist--as impresario, cultural producer, activist, and brand. Alongside beautifully reproduced images by both artists--including works by Ai Weiwei published here for the first time--are illuminating essays by an international team of art experts, curators, and scholars that survey the scope of the artists' careers and interpret the significant impact of Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei on modern art and contemporary life. This deluxe, collectible catalogue is available in three different, limited-edition colors. Published in collaboration with the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Exhibition Schedule: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (12/11/15-04/24/16) The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh (06/01/16-09/01/16) |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Introduction to Art: Design, Context, and Meaning Pamela Sachant, Peggy Blood, Jeffery LeMieux, Rita Tekippe, 2023-11-27 Introduction to Art: Design, Context, and Meaning offers a deep insight and comprehension of the world of Art. Contents: What is Art? The Structure of Art Significance of Materials Used in Art Describing Art - Formal Analysis, Types, and Styles of Art Meaning in Art - Socio-Cultural Contexts, Symbolism, and Iconography Connecting Art to Our Lives Form in Architecture Art and Identity Art and Power Art and Ritual Life - Symbolism of Space and Ritual Objects, Mortality, and Immortality Art and Ethics |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei, Weiwei Ai, 2011 This title looks at Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's 'Circle of Heads', his twelve large bronze animal heads depicting the ancient Chinese zodiac. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Human Flow Ai Weiwei, 2020-12 A powerful portrait of the greatest humanitarian emergency of our time, from the director of Human Flow In the course of making Human Flow, his epic feature documentary about the global refugee crisis, the artist Ai Weiwei and his collaborators interviewed more than 600 refugees and aid workers in twenty-three countries around the world. A handful of those interviews were included in the film. This book presents one hundred of these conversations in their entirety, providing compelling first-person stories of the lives of refugees. Speaking in their own words, refugees give voice to their experiences of migrating across borders, living in refugee camps for months or years, and struggling to rebuild their lives in unfamiliar and uncertain surroundings. They talk about the dire circumstances that drove them to migrate, whether war, famine, or persecution; the hardships they face; and their hopes and fears for the future. In the words of Atiq, an Afghan in his early twenties staying at a refugee camp in Greece, Nobody in the world wants to leave his country. But there's no way for people to live in that place. Complete with photographs taken by Ai Weiwei while filming Human Flow, this book provides a powerful and moving account of the most urgent humanitarian crisis of our time. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Dissidence Marie Leduc, 2018-11-20 How the valorization of artistic and political dissidence has contributed to the rise of Chinese contemporary art in the West. Interest in Chinese contemporary art increased dramatically in the West shortly after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Sparked by political sympathy and the mediatized response to the event, Western curators, critics, and art historians were quick to view the new art as an expression of dissident resistance to the Chinese regime. In this book, Marie Leduc proposes that this attribution of political dissidence is not only the result of latent Cold War perceptions about China, but also indicative of the art world's demand for artistically and politically provocative work—a demand that mirrors the valorization of free expression in liberal democracies. Focusing on nine Chinese artists—Wang Du, Wang Keping, Huang Yong Ping, Yang Jiechang, Chen Zhen, Yan Pei-Ming, Shen Yuan, Ru Xiaofan, and Du Zhenjun—who migrated to Paris in and around 1989, Leduc explores how their work was recognized before and after the Tiananmen Square incident. Drawing on personal interviews with the artists and curators, and through an analysis of important exhibitions, events, reviews, and curatorial texts, she demonstrates how these and other Chinese artists have been celebrated both for their artistic dissidence—their formal innovations and introduction of new media and concepts—and for their political dissidence—how their work challenges political values in both China and the West. As Leduc concludes, the rise of Chinese contemporary art in the West highlights the significance of artistic and political dissidence in the production of contemporary art, and the often-unrecognized relationship between contemporary art and liberal democracy. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Fixed. Amy E. Herman, 2021-12-14 With Amy Herman’s Fixed., we now have access to what the FBI, NATO, the State Department, Interpol, Scotland Yard, and many more organizations and their leaders have been using to solve their most intractable problems. Demonstrating a powerful paradigm shift for finding solutions, Herman teaches us to see things differently, using art to challenge our default thinking and open up possibilities otherwise overlooked. Her unexpected, insightful, and often delightful methodology is sought after by leaders and professionals for whom failure is catastrophic. Luckily for us, these tactics work— no matter the problem’s scale or complexity. And we don’t need an art degree or previous knowledge about art to benefit from her approach, only a willingness to open our eyes and our minds. Yes, things go wrong all the time. What matters most is what we do to fix them. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The Big Picture Matthew Israel, 2017-09-08 Discover the compelling story of the evolution of contemporary art, its state today, and where it’s headed, through a sample of ten artworks created by ten artists over a span of fifteen years. Written in an engaging, straightforward style by prominent art historian Matthew Israel, this book presents ten outstanding examples of contemporary art, each with significant historical or cultural relevance to contemporary art’s big picture. Drawn from the fields of photography, painting, performance, installation, video, film, and public art, the works featured here combine to create a bigger picture of the state of contemporary art today. From Andreas Gurskys large-scale color photograph “Rhine II” to Kara Walkers acclaimed installation in the Domino Sugar Factory in Brooklyn, each work is carefully explored within the larger perspective of its social and artistic milieu. Articulate and insightful, this book offers readers the ability to consider each work in-depth, while also providing an easily digestible foundation from which to study the often challenging but continually fascinating world of 21st-century art. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei Weiwei Ai, Sabine M. Eckmann, Kristina Kleutghen, Carol Yinghua Lu, Susanne Lüdemann, Molly Moog, Eric L. Santner, 2019 Over the past two decades, the Chinese conceptual artist, activist and exile Ai Weiwei has created art that addresses complex and sensitive themes of political, ethical, and social urgency. His artworks, which call upon both Western and Chinese cultural traditions, are deeply engaged with the history of art, drawing particularly on conceptualism and minimalism. From the start of his multifaceted career in the late 1970s, Ai has envisioned artistic practice as a deeply human, moral, and political endeavour. This volume presents the artist's work in dialogue with theoretical texts by the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben and the German-Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt alongside interpretive essays that illuminate the artist's work on human rights, his engagement with historical Chinese artifacts, and his critical consideration of the effects of globalisation. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The Avant-Garde and the Popular in Modern China Liang Luo, 2014-07-15 Provides a new perspective on the Chinese avant-garde through the figure of artist and activist Tian Han |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: At Large David Spalding, 2014 Working from his studio in China, internationally acclaimed artist and activist Ai Weiwei has created a major series of site-specific installations for Alcatraz Island. In this essential catalog, beautiful photographs of the large-scale artworks provide an comprehensive look at this important project, while thought-provoking texts and archival vintage images proffer cultural and historical context-- |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: When Home Won't Let You Stay Eva Respini, Ruth Erickson, 2019-01-01 Insightful and interdisciplinary, this book considers the movement of people around the world and how contemporary artists contribute to our understanding of it In this timely volume, artists and thinkers join in conversation around the topic of global migration, examining both its cultural impact and the culture of migration itself. Individual voices shed light on the societal transformations related to migration and its representation in 21st-century art, offering diverse points of entry into this massive phenomenon and its many manifestations. The featured artworks range from painting, sculpture, and photography to installation, video, and sound art, and their makers--including Isaac Julien, Richard Mosse, Reena Saini Kallat, Yinka Shonibare MBE, and Do Ho Suh, among many others--hail from around the world. Texts by experts in political science, Latin American studies, and human rights, as well as contemporary art, expand upon the political, economic, and social contexts of migration and its representation. The book also includes three conversations in which artists discuss the complexity of making work about migration. Amid worldwide tensions surrounding refugee crises and border security, this publication provides a nuanced interpretation of the current cultural moment. Intertwining themes of memory, home, activism, and more, When Home Won't Let You Stay meditates on how art both shapes and is shaped by the public discourse on migration. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Wildland Evan Osnos, 2021-09-14 INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER After a decade abroad, the National Book Award– and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Evan Osnos returns to three places he has lived in the United States—Greenwich, CT; Clarksburg, WV; and Chicago, IL—to illuminate the origins of America’s political fury. Evan Osnos moved to Washington, D.C., in 2013 after a decade away from the United States, first reporting from the Middle East before becoming the Beijing bureau chief at the Chicago Tribune and then the China correspondent for The New Yorker. While abroad, he often found himself making a case for America, urging the citizens of Egypt, Iraq, or China to trust that even though America had made grave mistakes throughout its history, it aspired to some foundational moral commitments: the rule of law, the power of truth, the right of equal opportunity for all. But when he returned to the United States, he found each of these principles under assault. In search of an explanation for the crisis that reached an unsettling crescendo in 2020—a year of pandemic, civil unrest, and political turmoil—he focused on three places he knew firsthand: Greenwich, Connecticut; Clarksburg, West Virginia; and Chicago, Illinois. Reported over the course of six years, Wildland follows ordinary individuals as they navigate the varied landscapes of twenty-first-century America. Through their powerful, often poignant stories, Osnos traces the sources of America’s political dissolution. He finds answers in the rightward shift of the financial elite in Greenwich, in the collapse of social infrastructure and possibility in Clarksburg, and in the compounded effects of segregation and violence in Chicago. The truth about the state of the nation may be found not in the slogans of political leaders but in the intricate details of individual lives, and in the hidden connections between them. As Wildland weaves in and out of these personal stories, events in Washington occasionally intrude, like flames licking up on the horizon. A dramatic, prescient examination of seismic changes in American politics and culture, Wildland is the story of a crucible, a period bounded by two shocks to America’s psyche, two assaults on the country’s sense of itself: the attacks of September 11 in 2001 and the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Following the lives of everyday Americans in three cities and across two decades, Osnos illuminates the country in a startling light, revealing how we lost the moral confidence to see ourselves as larger than the sum of our parts. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei Martin-Gropius Bau (Berlin)., 2014 Begleitband zur weltweit grössten Einzelausstellung des politischen Konzeptkünstlers Ai Weiwei in Berlin. Der eindrucksvolle und bestens bebilderte Band behandelt unter anderem die Ai Weiweis ästhetischen Widerstand, seinen Umgang mit der Tradition und seinen Blick auf die europäische Moderne. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: After Art David Joselit, 2013 How digital networks are transforming art and architecture Art as we know it is dramatically changing, but popular and critical responses lag behind. In this trenchant illustrated essay, David Joselit describes how art and architecture are being transformed in the age of Google. Under the dual pressures of digital technology, which allows images to be reformatted and disseminated effortlessly, and the exponential acceleration of cultural exchange enabled by globalization, artists and architects are emphasizing networks as never before. Some of the most interesting contemporary work in both fields is now based on visualizing patterns of dissemination after objects and structures are produced, and after they enter into, and even establish, diverse networks. Behaving like human search engines, artists and architects sort, capture, and reformat existing content. Works of art crystallize out of populations of images, and buildings emerge out of the dynamics of the circulation patterns they will house. Examining the work of architectural firms such as OMA, Reiser + Umemoto, and Foreign Office, as well as the art of Matthew Barney, Ai Weiwei, Sherrie Levine, and many others, After Art provides a compelling and original theory of art and architecture in the age of global networks. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei, 2019-05-21 Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is recognized around the globe for his conceptual installations catalyzing dialogue between the contemporary world and traditional Chinese modes of thought and production. Ai Weiwei: Life Cycle accompanies Ai's multifaceted installation at the Marciano Art Foundation, the culmination of 10 years of effort, featuring works related to his interests in mass production, antiquity and mythology. Enduring issues of political and social justice are given renewed potency through Ai's thoughtful and powerful installations. These include Life Cycle, a sculptural response to the global refugee crisis, and a series of figures based on mythic creatures from the Shanhaijing, or Classic of Mountains and Seas, crafted from bamboo and silk. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: A Forest of Names Ian Boyden, 2020-09-08 How do we honor the dead? How do we commit them to memory? And how do we come to terms with the way they died? To start, we can name them. When schools collapsed in an earthquake in China, burying over 5,000 children, the government brutally prevented parents from learning who had died. Artist Ai Weiwei, at risk to his own safety, gathered the names of these children, and their names are the subject of this book. Each poem is a poetic meditation on the image and concept suggested by the etymology in the Chinese characters. This act of poetic translation is both a heartbreaking tribute to people whose names have been erased, and a healing meditation on how language suggests a path forward. July 30 Tiānwēi Celestial Awe He carried no iron into battle. When he lifted his hand, he brandished the sky. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Herzog and de Meuron / Ai Weiwei: Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 Hans Ulrich Obrist, 2012-06-20 The design team responsible for the celebrated Beijing National Stadium, which was built for the 2008 Olympic Games, comes together again in London in 2012 for the Serpentine's acclaimed annual commission, being presented as part of the London 2012 Festival, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad. The Pavilion is Herzog & de Meuron and Ai Weiwei's first collaborative built structure in the UK.This year's Pavilion will take visitors beneath the Serpentine's lawn to explore the hidden history of its previous Pavilions. Eleven columns characterising each past Pavilion and a twelfth column representing the current structure will support a floating platform roof 1.4 metres above ground.The Pavilion's interior is clad in cork, a sustainable building material chosen for its unique qualities and to echo the excavated earth. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Visual Culture in Contemporary China Xiaobing Tang, 2015-01-08 Explores China's rich visual culture from the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 to the present day. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Yayoi Kusama: Every Day I Pray for Love Yayoi Kusama, 2020-12-08 In her most personal book to date, Yayoi Kusama brings us into her private world through poetic recollections, giving insight into her creative process and the essential role language plays in her paintings, sculptures, and daily life. With a new focus on Yayoi Kusama’s use of language, this book features an impressive overview of her poetry, which the artist creates alongside her work in other mediums. Highlighting the importance of words to the artist, the book draws special attention to the captivating, poetic titles of her paintings, such as in I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU THE INFINITE SPLENDOR OF STARDUST IN THE UNIVERSE and FIGURE OF THE MIDNIGHT DARKNESS OF THE UNIVERSE THAT I DEDICATED ALL MY HEART. These visionary titles are a quintessential part of Kusama’s eye-catching artworks, but also hold their own as unique aphorisms and appealing statements of cosmic spirituality. The poetry also collected here touches on Kusama’s personal trials, her human ideals, and her heroic pursuit of art above all else. Centered around EVERY DAY I PRAY FOR LOVE, Kusama’s acclaimed exhibition at David Zwirner, New York, in 2019, the book features more than 300 pages of new paintings, sculptures, and Infinity Mirror Rooms. It also includes photographs of Kusama over time, offering a unique visual timeline of this iconic artist. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Hans Ulrich Obrist Hans Ulrich Obrist, 2003 Transcripts of interviews by Hans Ulrich Obrist with architects, artists, curators, film-makers, musicians, philosophers, social theorists and urbanists. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Sitting in China Michael Wolf, 2002 This is a strange book about design and lifestyle. In China, chairs are as varied as the occasions for sitting. They are not elegant, and not always comfortable. But neither are they mass-produced items: they are individuals. Each chair and stool has its own character, is a companion, a bastard, or a venerable elder. Their occupants sit close to the floor, without the pressure of time, watching the world go by in self-observation. However, a photographer trying to document such a scene quickly becomes the focus of attention. People passing by wonder what is going on; the person on the chair assumes a pose, though the intention was to catch him or her unawares. Michael Wolf's photographs document the beauty of the ugly, the stretching of time, the art of improvisation, and the nature of the stool as a portrait of its user. Sometimes, a photographed chair was immediately confiscated: having lost its anonymity by being singled out as a noteworthy object, it rather became an object of embarrassment -- too shoddy to ever be photographed again. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei Charles Merewether, Weiwei Ai, 2008 Edited by Laura Murray Cree. Preface by Gene Sherman. Introduction by Lisa Havilah. Text by Charles Merewether. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Visual Intelligence Amy E. Herman, 2016-05-03 An engrossing guide to seeing—and communicating—more clearly from the groundbreaking course that helps FBI agents, cops, CEOs, ER docs, and others save money, reputations, and lives. How could looking at Monet’s water lily paintings help save your company millions? How can checking out people’s footwear foil a terrorist attack? How can your choice of adjective win an argument, calm your kid, or catch a thief? In her celebrated seminar, the Art of Perception, art historian Amy Herman has trained experts from many fields how to perceive and communicate better. By showing people how to look closely at images, she helps them hone their “visual intelligence,” a set of skills we all possess but few of us know how to use properly. She has spent more than a decade teaching doctors to observe patients instead of their charts, helping police officers separate facts from opinions when investigating a crime, and training professionals from the FBI, the State Department, Fortune 500 companies, and the military to recognize the most pertinent and useful information. Her lessons highlight far more than the physical objects you may be missing; they teach you how to recognize the talents, opportunities, and dangers that surround you every day. Whether you want to be more effective on the job, more empathetic toward your loved ones, or more alert to the trove of possibilities and threats all around us, this book will show you how to see what matters most to you more clearly than ever before. Please note: this ebook contains full-color art reproductions and photographs, and color is at times essential to the observation and analysis skills discussed in the text. For the best reading experience, this ebook should be viewed on a color device. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Between State and Market Jane Debevoise, 2014 Between State and Market: Chinese Contemporary Art in the Post-Mao Era examines the shift in the system of support for contemporary art in China between 1979 and 1993, from state patronage to the art market and the creative space in between. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Magritte Alex Danchev, 2021-11-30 The first major biography of the pathbreaking, perpetually influential surrealist artist and iconoclast whose inspiration can be seen in everyone from Jasper Johns to Beyoncé—by the celebrated biographer of Cézanne and Braque In this thought-provoking life of René Magritte (1898-1967), Alex Danchev makes a compelling case for Magritte as the single most significant purveyor of images to the modern world. Magritte’s surreal sensibility, deadpan melodrama, and fine-tuned outrageousness have become an inescapable part of our visual landscape, through such legendary works as The Treachery of Images (Ceci n’est pas une pipe) and his celebrated iterations of Man in a Bowler Hat. Danchev explores the path of this highly unconventional artist from his middle-class Belgian beginnings to the years during which he led a small, brilliant band of surrealists (and famously clashed with André Breton) to his first major retrospective, which traveled to the United States in 1965 and gave rise to his international reputation. Using 50 color images and more than 160 black-and-white illustrations, Danchev delves deeply into Magritte’s artistic development and the profound questions he raised in his work about the very nature of authenticity. This is a vital biography for our time that plumbs the mystery of an iconoclast whose influence can be seen in everyone from Jasper Johns to Beyoncé. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Artificial Intelligence, China, Russia, and the Global Order Shazeda Ahmed, 2019 Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data promise to help reshape the global order. For decades, most political observers believed that liberal democracy offered the only plausible future pathways for big, industrially sophisticated countries to make their citizens rich. Now, by allowing governments to monitor, understand, and control their citizens far more effectively than ever before, AI offers a plausible way for big, economically advanced countries to make their citizens rich while maintaining control over them--the first since the end of the Cold War. That may help fuel and shape renewed international competition between types of political regimes that are all becoming more digital. Just as competition between liberal democratic, fascist, and communist social systems defined much of the twentieth century, how may the struggle between digital liberal democracy and digital authoritarianism define and shape the twenty-first? This work highlights several key areas where AI-related technologies have clear implications for globally integrated strategic planning and requirements development-- |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The Chinese Art Book Colin Mackenzie, Katie Hill, Jeffrey Moser, 2013-09-23 The Chinese Art Book is a beautifully packaged, authoritative, and unprecedented overview of Chinese art from its earliest dynasties to the contemporary generation of artists enlivening today's art world. 300 works represent every form of Chinese visual art, including painting, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, figurines, jade, bronze, gold and silver, photography, video, installation, and performance art. Full of surprises for readers of all levels, The Chinese Art Book breaks new ground by pairing works that speak to one another in unexpected ways, enlightening historical, stylistic and cultural connections. Concise descriptive essays place each work in context, while cross-references lead the reader on a fascinating journey through Chinese art history. The Chinese Art Book features an introductory essay by Colin Mackenzie, Senior Curator of Chinese Art at the Nelson-Akins Museum of Art, along with an accessible summary of Chinese political and cultural history, a comprehensive glossary defining technical terms, and an illustrated timeline. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Hanging Man Barnaby Martin, 2013-09-17 The gripping story of post-Mao China and the harrowing fate of the artist and activist Ai Weiwei In October 2010, Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds appeared in the Turbine Hall in the Tate Modern. In April 2011, he was arrested and held for more than two months in terrible conditions. The most famous living Chinese artist and activist, Weiwei is a figure of extraordinary talent, courage, and integrity. From the beginning of his career, he has spoken out against the world's most powerful totalitarian regime, in part by creating some of the most beautiful and mysterious artworks of our age, works which have touched millions around the world. Just after Ai Weiwei's release from illegal detention, Barnaby Martin flew to Beijing to interview him about his imprisonment and to learn more about what is really going on behind the scenes in the upper echelons of the Chinese Communist Party. Based on these interviews and Martin's own intimate connections with China, Hanging Man is an exploration of Weiwei's life, art, and activism and also a meditation on the creative process, and on the history of art in modern China. It is a rich picture of the man and his milieu, of what he is trying to communicate with his art, and of the growing campaign for democracy and accountability in China. It is a book about courage and hope found in the absence of freedom and justice. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture Deanna D. Sellnow, 2017-02-17 Can television shows like Modern Family, popular music by performers like Taylor Swift, advertisements for products like Samuel Adams beer, and films such as The Hunger Games help us understand rhetorical theory and criticism? The Third Edition of The Rhetorical Power of Popular Culture offers students a step-by-step introduction to rhetorical theory and criticism by focusing on the powerful role popular culture plays in persuading us as to what to believe and how to behave. In every chapter, students are introduced to rhetorical theories, presented with current examples from popular culture that relate to the theory, and guided through demonstrations about how to describe, interpret, and evaluate popular culture texts through rhetorical analysis. Author Deanna Sellnow also provides sample student essays in every chapter to demonstrate rhetorical criticism in practice. This edition’s easy-to-understand approach and range of popular culture examples help students apply rhetorical theory and criticism to their own lives and assigned work. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Ai Weiwei Weiwei Ai, 2011 |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: The New Chinese Painting, 1949-1986 Joan Lebold Cohen, 1987 |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Conversations Ai Weiwei, 2020 Ai Weiwei is one of the world's most acclaimed artists and dissidents. This book presents him in conversation with theorists, critics, journalists, and curators about key moments in his life and career. These wide-ranging conversations flow between topics such as his relationship with China, the meaning of citizenship, moving his studio to Lesbos to be on the front lines of the migrant crisis, how to make art, and technology as a tool for freedom or oppression. Ai opens up about his relationship to his father as a poet and as a dissident forced into hard labor in a small village after the Cultural Revolution. He conjures up scenes from his long relationship with New York: dropping out of Parsons because he couldn't afford tuition, making portraits in Washington Square Park as an undocumented immigrant in the 1980s, taking photos for the New York Times at demonstrations in Tompkins Square Park, and returning to set up the Good Fences Make Good Neighbors project across the city. These candid, spontaneous conversations reveal why Ai Weiwei has become such a major force in contemporary art and political life. |
| ai weiwei study of perspective: Art of Change Stephanie Rosenthal, Hayward Gallery, 2012 Amongst a host of exhibitions and books surveying 'New Art from China', this title stands out as a uniquely focussed investigation of Chinese sculpture and installation. Exploring the work of a small number of artists – Liang Shaoij, Wang Jianwei, Xu Zhen/MadeIn Company, Gu Dexin, Sun Yuan/Peng Yu, Chen Zhen, Ying Mei Duan – and illustrating their most powerful and engaging works, this book traces a very particular seam of performative Chinese art from the late 1980s to the present.The artists featured here privilege performance, participation and change in their works. Often working on a grand scale, they invite the audience to engage with overwhelming, theatrical, yet ephemeral experiences – works which transform or change over time, as Xu Zhen's Actions of Consciousness, in which two concealed assistants make and toss into the air colourful sculptures, from inside an apparently sealed white cube.Published to coincide with a major exhibition at London's Hayward Gallery, this beautiful, lavishly illustrated book explores the political, social and cultural conditions that have shaped contemporary Chinese sculpture of this kind. Commentary on individual artists is accompanied by a central text by Hayward Chief Curator Stephanie Rosenthal, critical essays and individual texts on the artists featured. |
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