Ai Weiwei

Contemporary philosophy of art stands at the intersection of two competing paradigms in the discourse on political aesthetics: the critical and the affirmative. Along the critical dimension is the view that art and politics stand in an antagonistic relation. The conservative expression of this antagonism is exempified in Plato’s notorious verdict against poetry as a second-rate and socially corrosive form of imitation; hence Book X of the Republic serves as the classic statement of political power censoring artistic practices on ideological grounds. Along the critical dimension is the view that art can underwrite or advance certain social and political practices, as developed in Friedrich Schiller’s Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Mankind. Schiller’s optimistic vision of post-Revolutionary Europe entails an optimistic conception of aesthetic beauty as the primary vehicle of moral and political reform. But this logic of cultural affirmation through art has in recent decades been coopted to serve the far more sinister ends of political propaganda and fascist ideology. Consequently, modern aesthetic theory has rightly reverted to the antagonistic model while reversing the power relation: art as an effective critical force against dominant political structures (e.g. Ranciere). I argue, however, that this view does not sufficiently accommodate the increasing presence of contemporary art that is both critically subversive and culturally affirmative at once. Focusing specifically on the life and work of Chinese dissident artist, Ai Weiwei, I argue instead that a more complex dynamic exists today between artistic practices, political power, and an increasingly global community, and this  that exists today contemporary philosophy of art must draw on both the critical and affirmative paradigms of political aesthetics in order to give full expression to.

This article focuses upon the artistic practice of internationally renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and his installation ‘Sunflower Seeds’ (2010–11) that took place as part of London Tate Modern’s Unilever Series. Simone considers how Ai’s place-based installation works in tandem with his media-centric tactics to both reproduce and challenge dominant western geopolitical imaginations (Dittmer 2010) of China and ‘Chineseness’. She argues that Ai uses his success and status as an international artist and activist to perform a simultaneous Chinese and global identity, an identity that is self-consciously narrated and performed through global communications media. Ai actively facilitates his own transnational networks – mainly via the Internet and followers of his work – in order to disseminate information, maintain visibility and, most vitally, communicate freedom of expression as both a Chinese national and global citizen. Simone uncovers how Ai encourages his audiences to question their own ethical imperative to act, speak or protest on behalf of the Chinese (global) citizen by unveiling politico-economic connections between western and eastern citizens and forging material and imagined proximity

Throughout the 20th and in the beginning of the 21st century, many artists take up a double role as both art practitioner and writer. In recent years, scholars and the general public have become increasingly interested in artists'writings. A growing number of collected writings by many major 20th and 21st century artists is now being published in carefully edited publications. What is much less present, however, is a focus on how to understand these artists'writings. That is the aim of the present volume, which contains contributions by artists, academics and curators who undertake a reflection on artists'writings from the 20th and the 21st centuries. Emphasizing the visual arts, including performance art, Not a day Without a Line focuses on artists'writings that do not resemble the more explanatory kinds of writings by art critics, art philosophers or art historians, but which challenge our understanding of them as a text or an instance of reflection. The intricate relations between writing and art practice, between text and image, and between writing and the life of the artist, are important factors in what could be called the artist’s methodological promiscuity in writing.

My earliest memory of politics is from when I was 8 years old. I was sitting with my mother on the floor of our living room in Vancouver, Canada watching the television with the lights off.  It was the first time my mother had allowed me to stay up past my regular bedtime and I remember that we sat there in the dark and watched as thousands, hundreds of thousands of university students ran in panic as they were shot by PLA soldiers in Tiananmen Square. My mother explained to me that these students were shot where they lived and went to school, in Beijing, the capital city that housed the government that was meant to protect them and stand for civility.

This article uses two specific cases of graffiti in contemporary Hong Kong, the “graffiti girl” incident and the work of the “King of Kowloon,” to divulge some of the neglected origins of cultural anxieties in Hong Kong. Using Alexandre Kojève's idea of “the end of history” (1980), the article argues that the two cases combine to unfold the real tension and dilemma of Hong Kong today: a tension not only between a “free” Hong Kong versus a totalitarian PRC but, more acutely, a tension between a Hong Kong that believes it is making/experiencing history and a City that has already passed the end of history. The article illustrates this paradox through an exploration into the relationship between graffiti and graffiti artists on the one hand, and the public, cultural institutions and the authorities, on the other hand. The goal of this essay is to show how aesthetic forms mobilize themselves and illuminate Hong Kong's society attitude towards politics.

Bu çalışmada sanatta gelenek kavramının belli bir döneme sıkışmış bir zaman dilimi olarak düşünmek yerine, bu kavramın güncel ve gelenek kavramlarıyla karşıt ilişkisi göz önünde bulundurularak birbirini beslediği ileri sürülmüştür. Aynı şekilde güncel kavramının da zaman-mekân düzleminde gelenek kavramı içinde konumlandığı öne sürülmüştür. Bu bağlamda geçmişten günümüze uzanan sanat çalışmalarındaki imgelere geleneksel imgeler, bu imgelerden yeniden üretilenlere güncel imgeler ön tanımı getirilmiştir. Bu tanımlar ışığında, yeni ve güncel kavramları da tartışılarak diyalektik bir süreç gerektiren, kendinden öncekini olumsuzlayabilen, kopuş-­kesintiye neden olabilen bir yeni kavramı önerilmiştir. Güncel kavramı ise belirli bir şimdide aktif bir an olarak tanımlanmıştır. Dolayısıyla güncel rutin süreci belirli bir şekilde aşma isteği ve süreci olarak görülebilirken, gelenek günümüze kadar devamlılık ile ilişkilendirilebilmektedir. Günümüz güncel sanatında temellük sanatı gibi alternatif yeniden üretim eğilimler, Cindy Sherman, Ai Weiwei, Marina Abramovic gibi pek çok sanatçı tarafından tercih edilmektedir. Bu sanatçıların eğilimleri, geleneksel imgeleri yeniden üreterek yeni ve güncel bir tavırla ilişkilendirilebilir. Ancak bu yeni ve güncel yaklaşımı beraberinde bazı çelişkileri getirmekte, geleneksel olanı pekiştirmekte ve güncel imgenin geleneksel imgeye bağımlılığı saptanabilmektedir. Dolayısıyla bu çalışma, geleneksel ve güncel imgelerin temsillerini karşılaştırmalı bir yöntemle analiz ederek varsayılan saptamaları deşifre etmeyi amaçlamaktadır.

This paper offers a study of surveillance themes relating to Ai Weiwei's highly discussed disappearance and later reappearance in 2011. Our study is based on an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) approach and we focus on the manifold negotiations and (in)visibilities relating to the dramatic events as well as Ai's artwork and life.

son los dos artistas asiáticos contemporáneos más influyentes, su obra ha estado expuesta en los principales museos y ha sido avalada con diversos reconocimientos. El presente trabajo busca analizar puntos de encuentro entre estos artistas que han logrado formar parte del panorama del arte internacional.

Catalogue to the exhibition "Une brève histoire de l'avenir" (September 2015 - January 2016) at the Louvre. Based on the book by Jacques Attali. Curators and also main authors: Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Jean de Loisy.
Maria-Rosa Lehmann: author of Various work discriptions

Mass production that started with the Industrial Revolution, and the art movements that successively appeared with modernism and the psychological pressure of World Wars I and II affected the artist's way of expression. This development process in art started with Dada, and was followed by Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Conceptual Art and Neorealism. During this period, the perception of uniqueness of an artwork was surpassed an an object or item from daily life started to be exhibited in art galleries. Artworks were made using an object in a composition, and this tendency started to be used by artists. Two artists who made their projects in ceramics are chosen in the research, and it is discussed why they used thousands of objects, and the conceptual perception of the work through the examples of 'Sunflower Seeds' by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and 'Field in the British Isles' by English artist Antony Gormley.

Arte, Individuo y Sociedad 2015, 27(3), 411-426,
Actualmente Ai Weiwei es el creador con mayor proyección dentro y fuera de China, destacando
especialmente por su prolífica, heterogénea, comprometida y polémica producción artística. Sus
propuestas suscitan un gran interés y obtienen una destacada repercusión tanto en China como en un
escenario internacional. Precisamente, es uno de los artistas contemporáneos chinos que ha logrado una
mayor presencia en los medios de comunicación y en los espacios expositivos españoles, siendo un
ejemplo de ello la organización de la primera exposición museística de su obra en el Centro Andaluz de
Arte Contemporáneo (2013) y el estreno de la película documental sobre su vida y su obra Never Sorry
(2013), dirigida por Alison Klayman.
Ai Weiwei es un autor mediático y su visibilidad deviene una plataforma desde donde articular
proyectos artísticos que enfocan determinadas problemáticas sociales. A la vez, la crítica política de Ai
Weiwei resulta especialmente atractiva en un contexto euroamericano que subraya su papel de disidente
y agitador. Dentro de tales parámetros se ahondará en la recepción de la producción artística de Ai
Weiwei en el marco internacional y en el contexto español, analizando la aproximación que la prensa
esboza sobre dicho autor.

Abstract
Ai Weiwei is the artist with greater visibility inside and outside China, he stands out for his prolific,
diverse, committed and controversial artistic production. His proposals raise considerable interest and
obtain an outstanding impact in China and in an international scenario. Indeed, he is one of the Chinese
contemporary artists that have achieved greater presence in the media and in the Spanish exhibition
circuits, an example of this is the organization of the first museum exhibition of his work at the Centro
Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo (2013) and the premiere of the documentary film about his life and his
work Never Sorry (2013), directed by Alison Klayman.
Ai Weiwei is a public figure and his visibility becomes a platform from which to articulate artistic
projects that focus on specific social problems. At the same time, the political criticism of Ai Weiwei is
especially attractive in a Euro-American context which emphasizes his role as a dissident and agitator.
Within these parameters, we will delve into the reception of the artistic production of Ai Weiwei both
in the international and the Spanish context, by analyzing the approach of the media about this author.

Celem artykułu jest zaakcentowanie związku praktyki artystycznej Ai Weiwei z historią Chińskiej Republiki Ludowej
(tekst dostępny online)

The purpose of the article is to characterize the artistic practice of Ai Weiwei in relation to its connection to the history and sociopoliticalenvironment in China. (The article is available online in Polish)