Taking a Look at Ai Weiwei - 1760 Words

Ai Weiwei, a Chinese contemporary artist as well as a political activist was born in Beijing on May 18, 1957. When Ai was only one year old him and his family were sent to a labor camp. It was not for sixteen years later at the end of the Cultural Revolution until his family moved back to Beijing. He studied animation at the Beijing Film Academy in 1978. After his studies he spent about twelve years in the United States and studied at the Parsons School of Design where he soon dropped out. For income he became a street artist, doing drawings on the side. When his father had become sick in 1993, Ai returned to Beijing from New York City. He then became the artist director and co-founder of the China Art Achieves and Warehouse. This is about the time when some controversial pieces are now starting to come about. In 1993, Ai Weiwei then had moved to the North side of China in a town called Coachanghdi, this is where he started to do architectural work, including his studio house. This is when he founded the FAKE design, which is an architectural studio. Ai’s biggest controversial issue is when he was arrested on false tax evasions and detained for three months. After his arrest Ai Weiwei is no longer permitted to leave China and is under tight security by the Chinese government. He is not allowed to leave the country because he is under other criminal investigations, which include pornography, illegal exchange of foreign currency, and bigamy. Everyone in support of him isShow MoreRelatedChallenging Society Through Art.1073 Words   |  5 Pagesas simple as that. The most preferred type of art emotes happiness to the viewer throughout all of history. Yet, throughout the years, artists have come to challenge society’s preference of art. Artists like Gustave Courbet, Francisco Goya, and Ai Weiwei, who decided to take the challenge and start a new progression. Social critique through art is blatantly shown throughout each of their pieces: Stonebreake rs, The Third of May 1808, and Sunflower Seeds. All three are similar yet different. ThroughRead MoreEssay On Exploring And Preparing For An Intercultural Encounter1476 Words   |  6 Pagesdocumentary in a way that people from all over the world can view refugees in a positive and emotional way. â€Å"You can understand they are human, even in these conditions that you cannot imagine,† explains Ai Weiwei (p. 9). This is a prime example of how Italians go out of there way to help others. Ai Weiwei created this documentary in a way that will make others rethink how they view refugees in hopefully a more empathetic and positive manner. To be a successful communicator in Italy, I would need to have