In a line of works titled “Tobacco Project” Xu Bing symbolized humanity’s relationship with tobacco across art works including a book of tobacco slogans printed on tobacco leaves. This specific installation is a mock- tiger rug made of over half a million ‘1st Class’ brand cigarettes, carpet, and adhesive, and Xu Bing named it accordingly “1st Class”. 40 feet long and 15 feet wide, “1st Class’ is a larger than life tiger skin symbolizing “human prowess: it confirms our superiority by transforming one of nature’s fiercest predators into a lifeless skin beneath our feet.” (Ravenal, 2011) The oversized quality of the skin is no coincidence, as Xu Bing aims to invoke a slightly remorseful self-reflection. The size also doubles as a way to make one artwork into two: a massive collection of cigarettes and separately  an oversized tiger rug, and the oversized tiger could additionally signify an especially dangerous or threatening animal. As a tiger rug is associated with “luxury, status, and domination” Xu Bing forces the viewer to think about the correlation between these traits and humanity’s relationship with smoking cigarettes. Ravenal writes “The beauty of the tiger-skin pattern, its allusions to the dangerous thrill of the hunt, and the uncanny allure of the massive display of cigarettes ironically glamorize the addictive pull and risks of smoking.” (Ravenal, 2011) The monochromaticity of the tiger is clearly not made to look realistic, but it is rather an artistic decision to switch the oranges and blacks of normal tiger skin to white and orange (with orange stripes over a white background, keeping the color scheme as that of the cigarettes). However, from other viewpoints some of the tiger skin looks like a darker brown color, and this is because from standing on the other side you can see down the end of the cigarette, creating a darker sort of stippled look. This may emulate two different views of or opinions on cigarettes; those who enjoy them for the taste and/or feeling, and those who are suffering from addiction or physical health problems manifested from smoking.

“Urban Landscape – San Francisco” is a visually stunning installation. It was installed by Zhan Wang (China, b. 1962) and is constructed using a large amount of stainless steel household cooking objects. Pans with spoons and serving utensils outline the city. The inner city features tall towers of pots and pans of different shapes and sizes which perfectly emulate skyscrapers. Knives and other similar objects highlight the lanes of the city roads. The background is illuminated in part by Wang’s famous stainless steel rock sculptures. 

The piece is critical in nature. The intention of the piece is to show the potential of change in  beautiful cities. He is able to travel the world and create beautiful cities that are disassembled after some time. Growing up in China, Wang explains that the places he loved in his city were constantly demolished along with all the memories from those places.

“As someone who has lived all his life in Beijing, I have seen this regime demolishing non-stop. They don’t let you choose a place and make it special and meaningful; sooner or later, they will take it down. By trying to reach a level of western-oriented modernization, we are destroying the continuity of our own tradition.” – Zhan Wang

Bibliography:

Art Basel. “Urban Landscape – San Francisco, 2008”. 2015. https://www.cafa.com.cn/en/News/details/8330204.

This piece by Yue Minjun has clear inspiration from the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989 where the military opened fire on protesters, killing hundreds. As with the majority of Minjun’s works, everyone is depicted with a massive grin. I see this a representing how the people under the CCP had to always appear happy with the state of their country even this wasn’t true because if you expressed your dissatisfaction you would be killed. As stated in an interview in 2015, Yue Minjun says “In my work, laughter is a representation of a state of helplessness, lack of strength and participation, with the absence of our rights that society has imposed on us. In short, life. It makes you feel obsolete, which is why, sometimes, you only have laughter as a revolutionary weapon to fight against cultural and human indifference”. Knowing this, it can be interpreted that with nothing the victims of the Tiananmen square massacre could do nothing but smile. I also find it interesting that the people who are supposed to be the shooters are also smiling, possibly showing that the military had to shoot because if they did not prove their loyalty to the CCP, they could just as well share the same fate. To Minjun, Laughter is almost like a form of mockery of the CCP for how ridiculous their actions are and to show that despite being powerless, the victims can still demine their killers with one final act.

This is Mask Series No.26, an oil on canvas created in 1995 by Zeng Fanzhi. We are shown two happy figures, a man and his dog. The observer is situated behind the man in the work, almost as if we are looking over his shoulder and getting a glimpse into his life. This man is looking into a mirror that shows a realistic reflection of himself and a dog, however the dog is not next to him in real life. His reflection is on a beach elsewhere. The most significant aspect of the painting is the mask on his face in the mirror.

The man is dressed in a bright yellow suit, with finely combed hair. He has a white mask covering his mouth, eyes, and nose. His eyes are wide, with wide red lips. An interesting thing to note is that the mask fits so well on his face that if the mask and his skin were the same color it would be very difficult to tell the apart. This suggests that he has been wearing it for so long or that it has become a part of him.

What does the mask symbolize, though? In the 1990’s, China was undergoing social and economic changes that were sparked by public unrest and globalization. The Tiananmen protest in 1989 implored for greater freedom, and globalization policies led to increased business with other countries [1]. What developed was a greater divide between the population as some benefitted more than others and led privileged lives. Essentially, a greater sense of individualism was taking root even though Chinese society placed an emphasis on collectivism. In fact, the economic reforms introduced profit incentives that increased the share of private and joint ventures by 8 percent [2]. People were focused on their own success, but were pressured into wearing a “mask” and saying its for the country’s benefit. This tension is what Zeng Fanzhi is highlighting.

Knowing this, the themes of wealth and the eagerness to show it are clearly displayed by the nice suit the man is wearing the beach he is on. This man is a component of the urban elite and his phony intentions are painted through satire; I mean look at that goofy mask! Interestingly, the mirror adds another implicit dynamic symbolizing the superficiality of the situation. Everyone is masquerading their patriotism but when they look in the mirror, you can see the truth. In the dog’s case, his truth doesn’t need a mask because he isn’t subjected to the pressures a human is.

Work Cited

1.Linda Chao & Ramon H. Myers (1998) China’s consumer revolution: The 1990s and beyond, Journal of Contemporary China, 7:18, 351-368, DOI: 10.1080/10670569808724319

2.Hu, Zuliu, and Mohsin S Khan. “Economic Issues 8 — Why Is China Growing so Fast?” International Monetary Fund, June 1997, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/issues8/index.htm

Image:

上海香格纳文化艺术品有限公司 . “Mask Series 1995 No.26.” ShanghArt, https://www.shanghartgallery.com/galleryarchive/work.htm?workId=1309. Accessed 20 Apr. 2023.

Ai Weiwei “Sunflower Seeds” 

Porcelain, ink

2010

“Sunflower Seeds” by Ai Weiwei consists of 100 million handmade, individually painted porcelain sunflower seeds. When piled up, these handcrafted sunflower seeds look like a mound of unrecognizable shapes. Once examined up close, the sunflower seeds can be recognized. This installation was first displayed at the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London. 

The idea for this artwork came from what Ai Weiwei witnessed as a child in China during Mao’s rule. When Ai’s community would gather together following Mao’s order, everyone would eat sunflower seeds because they were so nervous. Ai Weiwei’s father was a counter-revolutionary and would be called on stage at these meetings and have to endure insults. The sunflower seeds were eaten in order to calm him down and gave everyone an outlet to soothe their nerves.

The production of the sunflower seeds took place in a city famous for its porcelain, Jingdezhen. The pieces of stone are first broken down with iron hammers and then pulverized into a powder. The powder is mixed with water until it is fully skimmed, leaving a thick paste behind. Before the mixture becomes too hard, it is divided into small bricks and then sent to porcelain factories in order to refine the powder even more. The porcelain is mixed with clay and then hand-pressed into sunflower-shaped molds. The seeds are then painted with black ink. Ai Weiwei makes a comment about the importance of having many different painters: “Each one is different, you show it through your own control of the brush and your breath and your own body gestures. You pick a seed up and you put on ink, more ink or less ink, lightly or thickly painted. Then you turn it over and place it down. It’s such a beautiful act” (Ai 2014:104). The differences between each sunflower seed is what Ai embraced.

This installation involved thousands of individuals who worked together in order to produce something bigger. The importance of this piece is that the little seeds create a form bigger than itself. Ai Weiwei wanted the viewers to question everything about this piece. He wanted people to wonder and look closer to figure out the meaning and process behind this work.

Works Cited

Weiwei, Ai, and Anthony Pins. Spatial Matters: Art Architecture and Activism. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press , 2014.

Image

https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/unilever-series/unilever-series-ai-weiwei-sunflower-seeds