Wk 2/AOT : AI WEIWEI
About the Artist
Ai Weiwei was born in China and still resides there as of now, he was born in 1957. He is a political activist who has been arrested a few times for "Economic crimes" and has been known to create work to show his ideas and beliefs on the Chinese Government. He is a contemporary artist who works in sculptures all the way to structures such as the Beijing National Stadium. His artwork is known to be highly critical of Chinese government ad supportive of democracy and human rights. He has created many documentaries and other pieces of work to convey his messages, and he even created a music album recently. Overall, he is a very active artist who fights for his beliefs through art.
Formal Analysis
For Ai Weiwei's art, he has many forms of art whether it is documentaries or paintings. His pictures involve him flipping off government buildings while some involve lighter subjects such as sunflower seeds or flowers. He uses lots of work with him in the pictures, which I have never seen much. He is usually in his photographs, holding some vase or some item of symbolism. Then of course he uses paintings of his culture, for special events or such. His work seems to be more of simplicity and aesthetic looks, using simple and complimenting colors within the photographs to prove a point whether it's a picture of a single vase or a few candles. He keeps it simple and uses the color base and the subject of view to pass views and beliefs, while also creating music and videos showing his inner thoughts and views on the society.
Content Analysis
Ai Weiwei definitely uses his view of the government in his work, flipping off the buildings, proving his discontent for the corruption. He believes that the government is truly unjust and corrupt, investigating the system to soon be arrested multiple times for suspicious reasons. It is really overwhelming to see the work he does, showing the simplicity of things to convert them into a deep and provoking message about the unjust government we follow blindly today. He always includes himself in his pictures, proving that his work always reflects his true thoughts and shows you his facial expression to send waves of emotion and thoughts across the world through his photos. He overall criticizes the Chinese government and tells the world his thoughts on it through his music, photos and pieces of art he spreads online.
Synthesis / My Experience
I really like his work, I think it's funny and fun while truly showing the true corruption through these pictures of his. It has made me think about our own government and I wonder if we have similar artists like Ai, but here in the U.S. I really enjoyed his work, knowing his intent of his work, truly showing the colors of the government in China. He was arrested multiple times for suspicious reasons, which just helps prove his point, since he was investigating the government himself. He has such a funny personality, posting pictures of him flipping off the camera or the buildings in the background, using humor yet getting his point straight about his thoughts. It is different from what we always see here, usually hard to depict, while his is straightforward and really hits you once you see the picture, it isn't hard to depict. So overall, I really enjoyed researching this artist, he is unique and knows how to spread word and his beliefs across the world.