The socio-political and economic climate of contemporary China most often serves as starting point for Ai Weiwei's art, and he uses local materials and resources like reclaimed wood from traditional Chinese houses and temples; Chinese antiquities like Neolithic vases and Qing
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty, officially the Great Qing, was the last imperial dynasty of China. It was established in 1636, and ruled China proper from 1644 to 1912. It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted for almost three cent…
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What are Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds made of?
porcelainAbout the exhibition Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds is made up of millions of small works, each apparently identical, but actually unique. However realistic they may seem, these life-sized sunflower seed husks are in fact intricately hand-crafted in porcelain.
What is Ai Weiwei style?
ExcessivismAi Weiwei / PeriodExcessivism is an art movement. In 2015 American artist and curator Kaloust Guedel introduced it to the world with an exhibition titled Excessivist Initiative. Wikipedia
Does Ai Weiwei make his own art?
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has created a work of art using materials that can be found in any DIY store. The resulting piece is a typical Ai Weiwei: simple, direct and unpretentious. And it democratises art, as anyone can create their very own contemporary sculpture in museum format with materials from HORNBACH.
How did Ai Weiwei make the sunflower seeds?
Ai Weiwei's take on the large hall was simple and complex, poetic and disturbing at the same time: He filled the Turbine Hall with a thick layer of sunflower seeds handcrafted in porcelain, a total of 100.000. 000 seeds, with a total weight of 150 tons.
How does Ai Weiwei make his artworks?
The socio-political and economic climate of contemporary China most often serves as starting point for Ai Weiwei's art, and he uses local materials and resources like reclaimed wood from traditional Chinese houses and temples; Chinese antiquities like Neolithic vases and Qing Dynasty furniture; porcelain from the ...
What medium does Ai Weiwei use?
SculptureInstallation artPhotograp...Ceramic artAi Weiwei/Forms
Is Ai Wei Wei banned from China?
According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, he was prohibited from leaving Beijing without permission for one year. Ai's supporters widely viewed his detention as retaliation for his vocal criticism of the government.
How was forever bicycles made?
The meaning of Forever Bicycles Some editions of the work were composed of 10000 bicycles installed in a 10-meter high space in abstract shapes designed to symbolize the social environment in China.
How old is Ai Wei Wei?
64 years (August 28, 1957)Ai Weiwei / Age
What are the sunflower seeds made of?
What Are Sunflower Seeds? Sunflower seeds are technically the fruits of the sunflower plant (Helianthus annuus) ( 1 ). The seeds are harvested from the plant's large flower heads, which can measure more than 12 inches (30.5 cm) in diameter.
Where are Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds made?
ChinaMade In China More than 1,600 artisans worked to make the individual porcelain seeds by hand in Jingdzhen, the city known as the “Porcelain Capital,” where artists have been producing pottery for nearly 2000 years.
Where are the sunflower seeds made?
Almost half of all the sunflower seeds in the world come from just two countries - Ukraine and Russia. Kansas is the “Sunflower State” and sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine.
Where did Ai Weiwei go to school?
Ai Weiwei attended the Beijing Film Academy and the Parsons School of Design in New York. He has received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Politics and Social Science, University of Ghent, Belgium (2010), as well as many awards, including the Skowhegan Medal (2011) and the Chinese Contemporary Art Award (2008).
When was Ai Weiwei arrested?
Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing, China in 1957. An outspoken human rights activist, Ai was arrested by Chinese authorities in April 2011 and held incommunicado for three months. Upon his release, he was prohibited from traveling abroad, engaging in public speech, and was subjected to continued government surveillance.
What has Ai Weiwei done?
Ai Weiwei has worked in everything from paint to readymades. As our landmark exhibition examines work from 1993 up to the present day, we take a look at some of the key works to know from across Ai’s career.
Where are Ai Weiwei sunflower seeds made?
In 2011, Ai Weiwei’s sunflower seeds – 100 million of them – were poured into the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern. Each one was unique: hand-crafted from porcelain in Jingdezhen – the Chinese town that once produced imperial porcelain for over a thousand years.
Why did Ai Weiwei boycott the Olympics?
He boycotted the Olympics, highlighting the discrepancy between China’s patriotic rhetoric and yet its terrible human rights record. “It was merely a stage for a political party to advertise its glory to the world,” he told Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
How long was Ai detained?
While the seeds were on display in London, Ai was arrested and detained without explanation by the Chinese authorities for 81 days. During this period, the RA elected Ai an Honorary Royal Academician, in solidarity. Installation of 100 million painted porcelain seeds in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern, London.
How many stools are there in the Martin-Gropius-Bau?
This installation at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin consisted of 6,000 stools laid out in the gallery. The three-legged wooden stools – originally produced by craftsmen – were typical of those used by Chinese families in the Ming Dynasty, which were replaced by metal and plastic models after the Cultural Revolution.
Who is Ye Haiyan?
Ai Weiwei, Ye Haiyan’s Belongings, 2013. Ye Haiyan is an activist for women’s rights in China. In response to her activism, the Chinese government evicted her from her home, leaving her, her daughter and their luggage on the side of a motorway.
How many cuboids are there in the RA?
It takes the form of six iron cuboids, which will stand in the RA gallery at shoulder height. Through apertures in the metal façade of each cuboid, visitors will be able to peer inside and view miniature dioramas of Ai’s imprisonment, the artist and his guards replicated in fibreglass.
Who is Ai Weiwei's father?
Biography of Ai Weiwei. Ai said his father, the poet Ai Qing, was his single greatest influence. When the artist was a year old, the family was sent to a labor camp, then to a rural village where Ai Qing was forced to clean communal toilets.
What is Ai's work?
Ai was a professional blackjack player for a brief period early in life. His work is about risk (personal, professional, and political). It is also about testing the limits of freedom. His work is designed to remind us that risk-taking is an essential form of exercise in a free society.
Who is the most famous Chinese artist?
Ai Weiwei is the most famous Chinese artist living today. As an activist, he calls attention to human rights violations on an epic scale; as an artist, he expands the definition of art to include new forms of social engagement. In a country where free speech is not recognized as a right, the police have beaten him up, kept him under house arrest, bulldozed his newly-built studio and subjected him to surveillance. He is viewed as a threat to "harmonious society." The West did not invent revolutionaries. China has an illustrious history of dissidents, anti-authoritarian originals and eccentrics, from the drunken monks of pre-history to counter-culture artists living in today's Beijing. Ai himself is from this long line of free-thinkers and writers, marginalized both by the right and left. From smashing an ancient vase to reciting the names of children who died due to government negligence, Ai's dramatic actions highlight the widening gap between the ideal and the real in Chinese society. He is also one of the earliest conceptual artists to use social media - Instagram and Twitter, in particular - as one of his primary media.
Who is Ai in the West?
In his refusal to pleasure the eye, he is the opposite of Jeff Koons, his equally famous contemporary.
What is creativity power?
Artworks. "Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one's imagination - perhaps more importantly - creativity is the power to act.". 1 of 10.
Installation Art by Ai Weiwei
In 2007, as Ai Weiwei was beginning to gain an international reputation, he was invited to take part in documenta 12 , a contemporary art exhibition held in Germany every five years. The theme was ‘Fairytale.’ For his contribution, Ai Weiwei imported 1001 Ming and Qing dynasty chairs from China, some of which were 500 years old.
Art of Political Dissent by Ai Weiwei
In the same year that he exhibited both ‘Sunflower Seeds’ and ‘River Crabs’, Ai Weiwei also made one of his most important documentaries.
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By Mia Forbes BA in Classics Mia is a contributing writer from London, with a passion for literature and history. She holds a BA in Classics from the University of Cambridge. Both at work and at home, Mia is surrounded by books, and enjoys writing about great works of fiction and poetry. Her first translation is due to be published next year.
What was Ai Weiwei arrested for?
In 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, for "economic crimes".
Where did Ai grow up?
Ai grew up in the far north-west of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government 's stance on democracy and human rights.
What is the Chinese name for a Chinese artist?
In this Chinese name, the family name is Ai. Ai Weiwei ( Chinese: 艾未未; pinyin: Ài Wèiwèi, English pronunciation: ( help · info); born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist. Ai grew up in the far north-west of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical ...
What is the purpose of the raincoat in Life in the United States?
Life in the United States. This raincoat has a hole near the waist which is covered with a condom. The work is intended to describe the AIDS crisis as Ai saw it in New York City. From 1981 to 1993, he lived in the United States.
Why was Ai under house arrest?
He said this was to prevent the planned party marking the demolition of his brand new Shanghai studio.
Why was Ai beaten?
Ai suffered headaches and claimed he had difficulty concentrating on his work since returning from Chengdu in August 2009, where he was beaten by the police for trying to testify for Tan Zuoren, a fellow investigator of the shoddy construction and student casualties in the earthquake.
Why was Ai arrested?
In 2011, Ai was arrested on charges of tax evasion, jailed for 81 days, and then released. The government had kept his passport confiscated and refused him any other travel papers. Following the return of his passport in 2015, Ai moved to Berlin where he maintained a large studio in a former brewery.
