“The powerful want to prevent dissident voices from being heard. They want to silence and destroy them” – Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei was born in 1957 to outspoken poet parents. Prominent within China as a member of the Communist Party, till this day his late father Ai Qing is considered one if the country’s leading modern poets. In 1958 he was denounced as being “right” of the communist government. The entire family was moved from their home in Beijing to a labour camp, where Ai lived until her was seventeen years old. He describes his childhood “as a youth, I lived as the son of enemy state.”
In 1981, aged twenty-four, Ai left China for America. He stayed for twelve years, spending the majority of his time in New York surrounded by the Warhol-influenced art scene. Citing a major influence in Marcel Duchamp, the early works he made there show the beginnings of his interest in socio-politics themes. They include photographs of the Tompkins Square riots in 1988, images of the Chinese exile community and portraits of beat-poets. His sensibility was shaped by what he witnessed in New York which was very much under the influence of Andy Warhol in those years.
If you look at his work compared to any of his contemporaries who haven’t had that experience, there is an easier translation. He knows the language of international art. A lot of work that comes from China is literally in another language, it’s hard for a western to comprehend, but I think people can understand Ai’s way of thinking because of his time in America.
Moving back to China in the early 90s when his father fell ill, Ai‘s work began to move political, standing out as a curator and critic unafraid to go against the government’s restrictions. He was heavily involved in setting up a community for avant-garde artists in Beijing and published three books profiling them.
Ai’s forthcoming exhibition as Somerset House, Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads, is also a continuation of his interest in the relationship between pop art and traditional Chinese heritage. The piece uses the sculptures, originally made in the 18th century as part of Beijing’s famous Summer Palace, and recreates the, almost as “ready-mades”. These works are moving culturally, but they also display the artist’s understanding of western contemporary and pop art.
As Ai Weiwei’s profile and the politicisation in his work has grown, it has become harder for him to live and work in China. In 2009 he underwent a major surgery following a serious assault by the police. Although it has become increasingly difficulty, Ai has maintained his position in the country. “I will never leave China behind, unless I am forced to” – Ai Weiwei.
Having firmly established the language of his art, architecture and curation in his cultural and political activism, Ai’s career has continued to maintain subversive and poignant comments on the country that he lives in, sometimes fights against, but ultimately loves. In the global society, where those on the outer edges of the mainstream are experiencing increasing levels of oppression, Ai is an important cultural figure, willing to make his voice known.
Written and Reported By Neha Kubavat - http://nehakubavat.blogspot.com/
In 1981, aged twenty-four, Ai left China for America. He stayed for twelve years, spending the majority of his time in New York surrounded by the Warhol-influenced art scene. Citing a major influence in Marcel Duchamp, the early works he made there show the beginnings of his interest in socio-politics themes. They include photographs of the Tompkins Square riots in 1988, images of the Chinese exile community and portraits of beat-poets. His sensibility was shaped by what he witnessed in New York which was very much under the influence of Andy Warhol in those years.
If you look at his work compared to any of his contemporaries who haven’t had that experience, there is an easier translation. He knows the language of international art. A lot of work that comes from China is literally in another language, it’s hard for a western to comprehend, but I think people can understand Ai’s way of thinking because of his time in America.
Moving back to China in the early 90s when his father fell ill, Ai‘s work began to move political, standing out as a curator and critic unafraid to go against the government’s restrictions. He was heavily involved in setting up a community for avant-garde artists in Beijing and published three books profiling them.
Ai’s forthcoming exhibition as Somerset House, Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads, is also a continuation of his interest in the relationship between pop art and traditional Chinese heritage. The piece uses the sculptures, originally made in the 18th century as part of Beijing’s famous Summer Palace, and recreates the, almost as “ready-mades”. These works are moving culturally, but they also display the artist’s understanding of western contemporary and pop art.
As Ai Weiwei’s profile and the politicisation in his work has grown, it has become harder for him to live and work in China. In 2009 he underwent a major surgery following a serious assault by the police. Although it has become increasingly difficulty, Ai has maintained his position in the country. “I will never leave China behind, unless I am forced to” – Ai Weiwei.
Having firmly established the language of his art, architecture and curation in his cultural and political activism, Ai’s career has continued to maintain subversive and poignant comments on the country that he lives in, sometimes fights against, but ultimately loves. In the global society, where those on the outer edges of the mainstream are experiencing increasing levels of oppression, Ai is an important cultural figure, willing to make his voice known.
Written and Reported By Neha Kubavat - http://nehakubavat.blogspot.com/
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