Module: Creative Investigation Assignment 1: Ai Weiwei

M.Des 1.1

Name: Harshal Desai

Lecturer:

Dr Kelvin Lee

&

Arabella Pasquette

Date of Submission

7/21/2011

Word Count: 3545

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This research paper focuses on the life and work of Chinese born artist Ai Weiwei.

Notoriously famous for his political stance against the Chinese Government, Ai

Weiwei has expressed his viewpoints through his art for well over twenty years.

We will look into the design movements during his period, how he managed to

create his art, and how did he use it to its maximum potential.

This paper has been divided into three parts.

The first part focuses on the origins of Ai Weiwei, his introduction in the art world, and

the design methods and artists that influenced him most. We will also take an in-

depth look at the artist’s design process, highlighting in general, some of his early

works as examples.

The second part of the paper focuses on critically evaluating his design methods.

This is further subdivided into three of Weiwei’s famous designs over the decade.

Each artwork will be assessed in terms of concept, method of design, and impact on

society.

The third part is a summarized compilation of our results about the artist and his work.

Here we draw our personal opinions about the artist, whether his methods are

logical and effective, and what we have personally learned from this project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................. 1

AI WEIWEI: An INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 3

A BRIEF HISTORY .................................................................................................................... 4

Links to Art movements ....................................................................................................... 5

Ai Weiwei’s Design Process ................................................................................................. 7

CRITICAL ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................ 11

Ai Weiwei: Dropping the Urn. (A solo exhibition) ........................................................... 11

Ai Weiwei: Sunflower Seeds .............................................................................................. 14

Ai Weiwei: Circle of Animals – Zodiac heads. ................................................................ 16

CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 18

Works Cited ............................................................................................................................ 19

Works Referenced ................................................................................................................. 20

IMAGE REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 21

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AI WEIWEI: AN INTRODUCTION

An artist, photographer, designer, writer and architect, are some of the many ways

to describe Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Famously known for speaking out his mind, Ai

Weiwei created many works of art that reflect on the flaws of the Chinese

Government. (Meacham, 2008)

Dubbed as the “Andy Warhol of China”, Ai has easily lived up to that name. He is

not just an artist, but also a publisher, a restaurateur and a very obsessive blogger.

Originally influenced by the surreal DADAist movement, Ai’s works consisted of

various sculptures made out of reshaping odd materials like shoes and cloth

hangers. It was only a few years ago that Ai started using his art as a political

reference, even though it was not his original intention. (Cooke, 2008)

Ai Weiwei has been quite candid about his views on democracy and the lack

thereof in China; however he does so more through his actions than just words.

In an interview with John Sunyer of NewStatesman, Ai stated,

I became an artist to escape the totalitarian conditions of

china. I wanted to escape the flawed system.

Regardless, Ai’s fame has definitely made a big impact in the world, so much so that

even has a planet named after him (NASA:83598 Aiweiwei )

Like any great artist, to appreciate their work we must first look into their origins.

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A BRIEF HISTORY

Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing was an infamous Chinese poet who lived a very

controversial life. During the Cultural Revolution, China banished intellectuals like

artists, writers and poets who dare speak their mind.

Ai Qing and his family was exiled to a labour camp when Weiwei was a just a young

boy. To add insult, Ai Qing and his wife were forced to clean the public toilets.

Weiwei recalls his father accepting his fate without complaint, stating, “For years I

didn’t know who cleaned our toilets. Now I know”. Ai Weiwei recalls it wasn’t just the

shoddy living conditions or lack of food that made his family’s life difficult.

Ai Qing was banished simply because he was an intellectual artist, labelled a

criminal when all he did was speak his mind. The government marked him as an

“enemy” even though his poetry wasn’t related to politics…and there was no

choice but to accept fate.

In late 1978, Ai Qing was exonerated by the Government issuing a simple sentence

saying “it was a mistake”. There was however, no formal apology. It was as if

Chinese government didn’t accept responsibility for their poor judgement, and it

could have been the precursor to Ai Weiwei’s constant jabbing at the system.

(Cooke, 2008)

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LINKS TO ART MOVEMENTS

Ai Weiwei moved to America at age 24, in early 1981. Weiwei enrolled in Parsons

School of Design where he learned about art history in general. He studied various

artists and was particularly influenced by Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. It was

the first time he recognized art as being a lifestyle, an attitude.

Weiwei was quite attracted to the concept behind DADAism. The freedom to

express himself anyway he pleases was a welcomed change and he began

experimenting with his own style.

His early works consisted of a violin with the shovel attached to the handle, and a

coat hanger morphed to give a profile of Duchamp himself.

Figure 1: Duchamp Hangeri

Ai quit the school shortly and continued his life picking up odd jobs to finance

himself. It was a hard life for him and the lack of money often resulted in him moving

from place to place. He did paint a lot during that time, but due to constant

relocating and having to throw art away in the process, Weiwei eventually shifted to

creating sculptures. (Aloi, 2006)

It wasn’t until 1993 that Ai Weiwei returned to Beijing and got fascinated in classical

Chinese art. He began to admire the skills of the traditional craftsmen and was

appalled to find their creations being sold in flea markets. Ai Weiwei, already

influenced by Duchamp, used his skills to merge the current consumer culture with

ancient Chinese art.

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He began acquiring priceless artefacts from the past and adding his own neo-

Dadaism style to it, creating a hybrid that shows the two opposite ideas of classical

rich culture vs. materialistic modern trends.

One major change that happened with Ai Weiwei personally was his change in art

direction. The first ten years in the Art industry, he produced works based on random

concepts. After his return to Beijing, all his artwork generally had the context of

China as a starting point. (Arcadia University Art Gallery, 2010)

His art quickly evolved to having a lot of political context, admittedly unintentional

at first but once Ai Weiwei realized he could challenge the management’s principles

via his art, a lot of his future works were created solely to point out the flaws in the

Chinese government.

Critic David Coggins quoted his work as,

A Humane conceptualism…a cunning humorous and

ultimately compassionate form of provocation to the global

consumer trends.

Realizing that as an artist, he was granted certain freedoms that most of his

countrymen can’t have, Ai Weiwei decided to use them to their maximum potential

by expressing his views through his art.

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AI WEIWEI’S DESIGN PROCESS

Ai Weiwei’s work is too diverse, but over the past few years his centralized theme has

always revolved around Chinese relics. He often destroys “priceless” artefacts but at

the same time, creates something new out of it.

Weiwei mentions he’s not breaking something just for the fun of it. For him, it is a

chance to explore limitless opportunities to create something unique, to understand

the cycle of construction and destruction, to destroy something that was priceless

and to create something out of the pieces that will be equally priceless.

Two of his infamous examples were when, in 1995 he took an old Han Dynasty urn

and painted a Coca Cola logo over it, and when he took three sequential photos of

himself dropping another urn from the same dynasty.

In 2006, he acquired 40 vases dating back to the Neolithic era and repainted them

with bright primary colors. (Meacham, 2008)

His exhibit titled Fragments, consisted of an odd looking canopy, constructed entirely

of material acquired from Qing Dynasty temples.

Figure 2: Fragmentsii

In 2007, the project Fairytale, one of his two contributions to “Documenta 12”,

consisted of gathering 1001 Chinese citizens via Twitter and bringing them to Kassel,

Germany. His second contribution, Template, was a giant arch shaped gate

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created out of doors and windows from buildings dating back to the Ming Dynasty.

(Ai Weiwei - Fairytale, 2008)

Perhaps his most controversial work, the Bird’s Nest shaped stadium created for the

Beijing Olympics. Ai Weiwei was asked to collaborate on the design from Swiss

architectural firm Herzog and de Meuron. It was only their request that made Ai

consider it, stating that he would have denied it had the request come from the

Chinese government. (Meacham, 2008)

However, the controversy came when in an interview; Ai announced he had ‘no

interest’ in the Olympics or the propaganda behind it. He clarified that he loves the

design and construction of the stadium which was a difficult feat to achieve in the

short amount of time. Ai refused to promote it any further because he believed the

structure reflected wrong values. (Cooke, 2008)

Figure 3: 'The Birds Nest' Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympicsiii

Slamming the Olympics by calling it a “pretend smile” situation, Ai Weiwei explained

that Olympic Games held without freedom and against the will of the people are

nonsense. Strangely enough, while the world was buzzing at the aftermath of his

comments, Ai had already moved on, saying “I don’t care about it anymore. To me,

it’s already the past” (Chinese architecture slams Olympic "Pretend Smile", 2007)

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It was one of Ai’s signature traits. While most artists prefer to continue generating a

buzz about their work, Ai shrugs it off, as if it was nothing special.

His influence in political matters grew in his work “So Sorry”, a title referring to the

thousands of apologies conveyed by the government, businesses and corporations

worldwide as a response to the catastrophes and crimes, though, without bearing

the penalties or the need to admit, let alone repair their blunders. (Dercon & Lorz,

2009)

Ai produced an exhibit titled Remembering, constructed from nine thousand

children’s backpacks to spell out a sentence, “she lived happily on this earth for

seven years” in chinese characters.

This quote was spoken by one of the mothers who lost their child in the Sichuan

earthquake. The concept emerged when Ai Weiwei visited Sichuan in search for

answers on why only some schools collapsed whereas others next to it remained.

After being constantly ignored by the government, Ai decided to erect a ten-meter

high, hundred meter long display of that one resonating statement along with a

giant picture of his face against a red background, as if to declare his claim over

the work. (Weiwei, 2009)

Ai Weiwei is also passionate about photography, often capturing Black and White

images of his environment. His most notable work was amusingly titled “A study of

Perspective” where he travelled to various countries and photographed the famous

monuments while flipping them off.

Figure 4: Study of Perspectiveiv

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Currently, Ai Weiwei’s photos of his time in New York City from 1983 to 1993 are

featured in an exhibition presented by Asia Society. The exhibition opened on 29th

June 2011, shortly after his release from prison on June 22nd 2011. The gallery

showcases 227 handpicked photos from Ai’s archive of 10000. (Ai Weiwei: New York

Photographs, 2011)

Ai Weiwei quoted

The New York I knew, no longer exists. Looking back on the past, I

can see that these photographs are facts, but not necessarily true.

The present always surpasses the past and the future will not care

about ‘today’

When asked if his involvement in politics has overtaken his interest in art, Weiwei

simply stated that his art works best when there is a core political theme subtly

hidden within. Weiwei considers it his responsibility to speak up for the masses.

(Sunyer, 2010)

One thing we noticed is about Ai Weiwei’s artwork is his captivation with clay and

the ability to encapsulate China’s identity into his work, more often as the primary

theme. He considers China’s dictatorial regime as his medium, comparing it to what

the bicycle wheel was for Duchamp and what the picture of Mao was for Andy

Warhol.

We will further analyse his design process by selecting three of his most famous works

and critically evaluate them in terms of concept, design, and impact.

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CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The most notable artworks of Ai Weiwei have been his three exhibition displays

featuring his artwork using historic urns and pots, the well-known sunflower seed

display that was showcased in many museums and also featured in TED Talks. Lastly,

the current exhibit representing the 12 heads of the Chinese zodiac, are the three

artworks that we will scrutinize. We have specifically avoided analysis of the Bird Nest

Stadium simply because it has been extensively criticized by the media and have

more political connotations rather than artistic ones.

AI WEIWEI: DROPPING THE URN. (A SOLO EXHIBITION)

This was one of Weiwei’s first solo exhibitions outside New York City and was heavily

fixated on his radical use (or misuse) of historic clay vessels and porcelain urns.

The oldest pieces in the exhibit were 7000 year old Neolithic urns; dating back to

5000 B.C. Ai Weiwei dipped all fifty one of them into bright vats of paint, saying the

colors will look more appealing inside this contemporary styled museum.

Figure 5: Neolithic Vasesv

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He also took two 2000 year old Han Dynasty urns and hand painted a Coca Cola

logo on one, while taking three sequential shots of him dropping the other urn on the

floor.

Figure 6: Han Dynasty Urnsvi

Conceptually, Ai was trying to merge the consumerist trends with the cultural

heritage, and in the process of destruction and creation, show how both can

equally valuable and worthless at the same time. What seems like destroying a

historical priceless object, both in terms of its financial and cultural value, is

converted into a contemporary work of art which has near equal value and reflects

the modern culture, and yet often deemed worthless.

In a sense it’s almost a comical exploration of trying to figure out what makes an

object truly valuable.

Beijing based critic, Philip Tinari commented that Ai Weiwei’s exhibit could also

represent China’s connection with its past, where they were well known for

destroying priceless historical artefacts on a routine basis and how they have

adopted a more materialistic lifestyle. (Arcadia University Art Gallery, 2010)

In terms of design we can note a mixture of the neo-Dadaism style paired with Ai

Weiwei’s own sense of minimalism. For him, it was nothing more than a playful

exploration of creating new works of art from the old ones, a process of rebirth. The

political connotations were later made by the media. The sheer audacity to paint

over a 7000 year old urn, yet to retain some of the original details clearly shows

Weiwei gave considerable thought to his project. Each of his work in the gallery

showed a perfect amalgam of the original art and the newly hand painted one.

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Watching the exhibit as a whole, we can also notice Ai’s curious fascination with

Chinese clay art. There is a timeline hidden in his work showing the different eras of

clay evolving from simple vessels to stone urns to refined porcelain vases.

Ai Weiwei also wanted to bring the skills of the traditional craftsmen into the limelight

and commissioned a few highly talented artisans from the Jingdezhen village to

create exact replicas of vases from the Qing Dynasty. He then placed the originals

among the replicas and it was impossible to differentiate the two without the help of

carbon dating. The idea was to not only to show that the traditional designs can be

replicated with ease, but also emphasize on the concept of true “originality”.

However, the impact of his work had mixed reactions, like all his work in general.

Whereas some were delighted with the concept projected by the exhibits, others

were not so kind. Many believed Ai Weiwei was a madman to willingly tarnish such

precious relics just for the sake of it. It was bad enough that he “ruined” the value of

a Han Dynasty urn by painting the Coca Cola logo, but the sequential image of him

dropping the urn did not sit well with the Chinese government, considering Ai Weiwei

to be mocking the Chinese culture. While the debate continued whether this should

be deemed as art or vandalism, Ai Weiwei already moved on towards his next

project.

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AI WEIWEI: SUNFLOWER SEEDS

One of Ai Weiwei’s biggest projects, enlisting over 1600 Chinese artisans to create a

little over 100 million porcelain seeds. The floor of Tate Modern’s Turbine hall was

covered in a deep layer of these miniature creations.

Each sunflower seed was moulded and painted individually, bearing 2-4 gentle

brush strokes. Ai Weiwei welcomed visitors to walk on his display, experience the

crackling sounds when they walk across the surface, or pick up the seeds and let

them meditatively slip across their fingers, feeling their texture.

Figure 7: Sunflower Seedsvii

Conceptually, there can be several interpretations behind this installation. The

historical perspective of creating “Sunflower” seeds would be during the period of

the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong was associated with the sun, and the public as

sunflowers, gazing lovingly at his face. Also, the seeds were a common snack item in

China, often consumed in company of friends. (Higgins, 2010)

A more modern day analogy comes from the vast scale of the exhibit, where each

seed could represent the people of China as a growing population, where the

success of impact will be stronger as a group rather than individual efforts.

In terms of design, Ai Weiwei focused more on the actual sensory experience,

creating a form of live interacting art. While the individual seeds are plain in design,

having barely 2-4 strokes on them, each seed was still unique (suggesting each

Chinese citizen is also unique). It was the ability to interact with the audience that

made this display a big success. (Kleutghen, 2010)

The project showed the more artistic side of Ai, still adhering to a centralized Chinese

theme but less focused on the political aspects.

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Ai also compared the entire project to Twitter, his favourite social networking site,

stating that it was

“A vast sea of ideas and communication contributed by individual

people”

With regard to its impact on society, there weren’t many negative connotations

associated with this display. People were fascinated with the idea and were eager

to explore the installation.

Unfortunately, for the Tate Modern exhibit, they were denied as the management

banned people from walking over the porcelain seeds, claiming it a health hazard

due to the “dust” created by walking over them.

Despite visitors stating on the BBC network that they don’t mind taking the risk, Tate

Modern restricted access and only allowed an aerial view of the seeds, which, as

Reporter Gompertz commented sarcastically, was as interesting as watching a

carpark. (Gompertz, 2010)

Thankfully it wasn’t the case in the other areas where this installation was displayed

and overall, it was a marvellous display.

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AI WEIWEI: CIRCLE OF ANIMALS – ZODIAC HEADS.

While Ai Weiwei was detained by the Chinese Government, his exhibitions continued

according to schedule with the opening of his most recent display “Circle of Animals

– Zodiac Heads”. This was Weiwei’s first public display and kept outside the Plaza

Hotel in Manhattan. The opening was greeted with several media reporters including

12 personal representatives of Ai Weiwei reciting quotes from his blog.

The exhibition was a series of the twelve heads of the creatures of the Chinese

Zodiac. Each head was made of bronze, roughly four feet in size, weighing over

300kg, and set on a six foot bronze base.

Figure 8: Zodiac Headsviii

Conceptually, Ai Weiwei came up with the inspiration from the original heads

designed in the 18th century for Manchu emperor Qian Long, as part of a famous

fountain clock. Apparently, each head would spout water for two hours a day,

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which explains why all the mouths are open. However, the heads were looted by

British and French troops in 1860. They were eventually lost until some of them

resurfaced back in 2000. The Chinese government managed to retrieve seven of

them, although the remaining five are still lost. Ai Weiwei considered this and

duplicated the seven heads based on their original details, and recreated the

remaining five from his own imagination. You can actually notice the distinction,

particularly in the rooster, tiger and dragon heads which are quite ferocious and

more ornate than their counterparts. However, Ai did mention in an interview that

this information is irrelevant and makes no contribution towards the public enjoying

the display. (Smith, 2011)

In terms of design, the six foot bronze base could suggest a lotus stem, as is popular

in Chinese culture. However, another way to look at it would be the heads are

impaled on six foot long stakes, referencing to an obscure dark humor of beheading

the zodiac. The latter is further enhanced with the fact that the heads weren’t

displayed in a circle (despite the title of the exhibit), but were instead placed on

either side of the fountain, facing north, as if to suggest a more dominant approach.

With regards to the impact on society, since Ai Weiwei was detained at the time,

many claimed this exhibit as a means of quiet defiance. It was a means to show the

Chinese Government that Ai Weiwei’s work will continue influencing people

worldwide with or without his presence.

Considering this is a relatively new exhibit, it remains to be seen how the Chinese

regime puts their negative spin on this installation.

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CONCLUSION

Ai Weiwei has definitely outspoken against the Chinese Government through his

artwork. Evan Osnos, reporter from the New Yorker claimed that Weiwei jumps at the

opportunity to play the rebel, and readily converts the complexity of modern China

into black and white absolutes in order to gain foreign sympathy.

Some people admire his work, others say he simply wants to make a fuss and do not

acknowledge his tactics. The fact that Ai Weiwei prefers to exhibit his art outside

China, allowing foreigners to reflect their society’s morals upon the Chinese lifestyle

only ignites more criticism from the Government. (Osnos, 2010)

However, according to us, this is the correct approach as China needs to re-

examine its role as a nation and more importantly, as a GLOBAL nation. It is no

longer a closed society, and with rapid globalization of cultures, it cannot afford to

stay out of the loop for long.

That being said, we do however find Ai Weiwei’s art rather one-tracked. Despite

each new exhibit being unique, there’s always the same underlying inspiration of

recycling old Chinese relics into new works, or cross examining China’s past with the

present. In his fervour to improve China, it seems he has forgotten that a true artist

constantly evolves. This was well visible in the first ten years of his career back in New

York City, where he created a multitude of different sculptures, each having their

own unique theme.

In fact, one must wonder whether Ai Weiwei’s life has become a work of art itself.

The constant jabbing at the government does appear like an overdrawn

performance.

Whether it is a good thing or bad depends on an individual’s perspective, after all,

Ai Weiwei is definitely stirring change in the world through his art, and eventually

THAT is the true nature of art. Personally, we think the world could use more artists like

him.

Ai Weiwei will continue his innocent defiance against the Chinese regime and will

keep inspiring the future generations to speak up for their freedoms in hope that one

day China can truly become a democratic nation, and all courtesy of an

“intellectual artist”.

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IMAGE REFERENCES

i Duchamp Hanger. Retrieved 31 July, 2011 from http://www.toutfait.com/images/GalleryImage/Big_Gallery_Image_313.jpg ii Fragments, Retrieved July 31, 2011 from http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01716/Ai-Weiwei-Fragment_1716516i.jpg iii 'The Birds Nest' Beijing National Stadium. Retrieved 31 July, 2011 from http://www.phaidon.co.uk/agenda/art/picture-galleries/2011/may/11/the-audacious-artwork-of-ai-weiwei/?idx=14 iv Study of Perspective. Retrieved 31 July, 2011 from http://www.phaidon.co.uk/agenda/art/picture-galleries/2011/may/11/the-audacious-artwork-of-ai-weiwei/?idx=9 v 51 Neolithic Vases. Retrieved 31 July, 2011 from http://www.phaidon.co.uk/agenda/art/picture-galleries/2011/may/11/the-audacious-artwork-of-ai-weiwei/?idx=8 vi Han Dynasty Urn. Retrieved 31 July, 2011 from http://www.phaidon.co.uk/agenda/art/picture-galleries/2011/may/11/the-audacious-artwork-of-ai-weiwei/?idx=10 and http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MujWMIcJpnQ/TdYhg9fBrbI/AAAAAAAAEBc/3yU4le90IAA/s1600/Coca-Cola.jpg vii Sunflower seeds. retrieved 31 July, 2011 from http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/10/view/11836/ai-weiwei-sunflower-seeds-at-the-tate-modern.html viii Zodiac heads. Retrieved on July 31, 2011 from http://www.whitewallmag.com/2011/05/04/ai-weiweis-circle-of-animalszodiac-heads-at-central-park/