Ai Weiwei: China’s Rebel

Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing, China in the year 1957. He is a human rights activist and an outspoken critic of China’s authoritarian regime. In April of 2011, Weiwei was arrested by Chinese authorities and was isolated from the outside world for almost three months. After his release, the government prohibited him from leaving Beijing for one year and he was also not allowed to travel without government permission. As a result, he became China’s symbol for the struggle of human rights in China.

Ai is greatly influenced by the works of Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, and Jasper Johns. In fact, he spent his formative years as artist in New York City during the ‘80s when Warhol was considered a god. In a Smithsonian Magazine article, he basically said that this experience allowed him to understand how to “combine his life and art into a daring and politically charged performance that helps define how we see modern China.” He has gained an international audience with his work. He doesn’t really have a particular visual style either in any of his work. He tends to venture into different mediums such as sculpting, photography, architecture, and even social media to deliver his social message.

So why am I writing about him? Because I’m going to see his new exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum next week. I came across his work for the first time when I was doing my preliminary research on art censorship for my English final last year. I like how all of his works have some social message behind it. I also admire the fact that he doesn’t stick to one platform or genre to get his message out to the world. One of my favorite works of his is Sunflower Seeds (2010). This was an installation made up of millions of small, identical but unique works that were hand-crafted in porcelain. Ai decided to have these seeds made out porcelain because it is widely associated with China. Ai’s message for this installation was to take closer look at the whole “Made in China” sensation in the world and to take a look at the geopolitics of cultural and economic exchange. Ai Weiwei is a brave man to stand up against the harsh Chinese government with his artworks. He truly is China’s rebel artist.

Here are some his works: