Ai Weiwei is unique in his field, as he uses art to comment on social and political issues. Living and working in Beijing, his Western artistic educational background has caused a great deal of controversy. After attending Parsons School of Design, Ai mainly worked as a painter in the beginning of his career. He has since done work in a variety of other media such as sculpture, installations, photography, literary pieces, and various public projects (Cunningham 2018). Ai has been arrested, beaten up by the police, had his studio destroyed, and has been subject to governmental surveillance (The Art Story). He is one of the first conceptual artists to use social media to present his work. He used his social media platform to criticize officials for withholding information about the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. The Chinese government, having censored details about the schools which collapsed and the 80,000 victims, began to view Ai Weiwei as a threat when he made art drawing attention to only a fraction of the lives lost in the earthquake (The Guardian 2018). He continues to make art commenting on controversial issues.
Ai Weiwei dropping an ancient ceremonial urn
Bibliography
“Ai Weiwei Overview and Analysis.” The Art Story.
John M. Cunningham. “Ai Weiwei.” Britannica Online Academic Edition, October 24, 2018.
Weiwei, Ai. “Ai Weiwei: The Artwork That Made Me the Most Dangerous Person in China.” The Guardian. February 15, 2018
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/ai-weiwei-dropping-a-han-dynasty-urn-7
