The article is used for this blog post can be found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/15/arts/international/a-departure-for-ai-weiwei-at-the-royal-academy-in-london.html?ribbon-ad-idx=10&rref=arts&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Music&action=keypress®ion=FixedRight&pgtype=article
A poster campaigning for Ai Weiwei’s release
The man in the poster above is the contemporary artist Ai Weiwei. While John Singer Sargent lived about a century earlier than Weiwei, the two have many similarities.
Both Weiwei and Sargent are men without countries. According to Farah Nayeri’s article, “A Departure for Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy in London”, Weiwei was imprisoned for 81 days in 2011 and only regained his right to leave the country two months ago. Weiwei is famous for his artwork that criticizes the corruption and wrongdoings of the Chinese government. The piece “Straight” is a “96 ton floor sculpture made of steel reinforcing bars salvaged from shabbily built schools that collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, killing more than 5,000 children”, and was a strong contributor to his arrest. After Weiwei helped design the 2008 Olympic stadium in Beijing, he became famous, which consequently led to his radicalization. The artist began his own blog in 2005, which included 2,700 anti-Chinese government posts. The blog was censored in 2009. While Sargent chose to leave his country due to a lack of supporters, Weiwei was forced to leave China under fear of future arrest, or worse, by the Chinese government due to his quite open opposition to it.
Weiwei’s sculpture, “Straight
Both Sargent and Weiwei have worldwide fame. After Weiwei’s release, he was able to attend the opening of Britain’s largest survey of his own artwork at the Royal Academy of Arts, something that no one expected to his status as a political prisoner with no passport just two short months ago. Weiwei’s artwork has been featured in more than 100 solo shows and 350 group shows.While Sargent is famous for his portraits, Weiwei is famous for his sculptures and more tactile arts. My favorite piece that he created is “S.A.C.R.E.D.”, the artwork is a shockingly accurate representation of Weiwei’s detention in a Chinese prison. The piece is almost photorealistic, it must have taken him months, if not years, to finish. Weiwei’s work in bringing justice not only to himself, but to the 5,000 students that were killed is incredibly admirable and honorable. I would love to go see some of his renowned works.
I really enjoyed how you compared Sargent to Weiwei in such unique ways. However, I find a crucial difference between the two that certainly sets them apart. When Sargent left his native country, he did so while gathering a variety of knowledge and influences from many different places, which ultimately contributed to his diversified style. Weiwei on the other hand, seems as if when he left his native country, he focused primarily on styles which would relate or depict to different things from his original home. Due to these differing styles, I realize that though Weiwei’s style was very limited to his own country, Sargent’s style proved to be multifaceted.
I really enjoyed how you compared Sargent to Weiwei in such unique ways. However, I find a crucial difference between the two that certainly sets them apart. When Sargent left his native country, he did so while gathering a variety of knowledge and influences from many different places, which ultimately contributed to his diversified style. Weiwei on the other hand, seems as if when he left his native country, he focused primarily on styles which would relate or depict to different things from his original home. Due to these differing styles, I realize that though Weiwei’s style was very limited to his own country, Sargent’s style proved to be multifaceted.
I very much enjoyed reading your post and learning about this artist. Though he and Sargent definitely had different creative styles and reasons for their art, the mystery of their nativity is certainly a similarity between the two. However, I found that Weiwei’s art made a very profound statement about the modern-day Chinese government. His sculpture “Straight” really stuck with me. I love the fact that he used the old materials in his piece to serve as a constant reminder that corruption leads to nothing but imbalance in society. The fact that the Chinese people don’t have freedom of speech is very frustrating. It makes you think twice about taking our rights for granted.
There may be some similarities between the two artists, but there are more differences than similarities. Sargent and Wei Wei have different artistic styles. Sargent is a painter. Wei Wei is an artist who does sculpture, architecture, photography and more, but just not paintings. Sargent is famous for paintings of friends and family. Meanwhile Wei Wei is famous for creating artworks which satirizes the Chinese government.
Your post raises some really interesting points. It is interesting to see how the changing of cultures molds one’s identities. I am not sure if Ai Weiwei is really modern day John Singer Sargent though. Personally, I would call Weiwei a blend between John Singer Sargent and his 19th century contemporary Thomas Nast. Since, Nast was a cartoon satirist and Sargent for more of a formal artist, I would say Weiwei is a combination because he portrays satire in a more formal art way.
I really enjoyed reading your post, it was really eye opening to me. Although I have heard about Ai Wei Wei a lot in the past, I never really got the chance to take a look at his work and through this post I now have a better understanding of him as an artist. Besides the similarities that you have listed, I have also noticed that both artist have been in some controversy regarding their works. For Sargent, his controversy laid in the the daring presentation of female sexuality in Madame X and Ai Wei Wei’s controversy lies in his satirization of the repressive Chinese government. Lastly, I took a look at the “S.A.C.R.E.D” piece that you liked and I love how Ai Wei Wei represented himself and the guards. I couldn’t help but laugh when I was looking at the piece, the humor in the piece was very apparent in my opinion.
I wouldn’t exactly call them similar. I believe Sargent’s artwork is scandalous, Madame X, if anything. While Weiwei’s art is more purposed towards reforming. I applaud his courage in trying to reform China. China needs more reformers like him. Unlike the United States, Chinese have been known to censor pretty much anything thats negative about the government or the nation. So I say: Free the press!
Brandon, it was very interesting to how ai wei wei had an uncanny resemblance to Sargent in the modern-era. He is a very interesting figure, as his artwork portrays natural disasters, and atrocities committed by his homeland. Whereas Sargent painted individuals and landscapes he had known well during his visits in Europe. His tactile artwork is very gripping and the “Straight” piece was very abstract in that there may be various interpretations of the piece.
I find it interesting that you chose to compare Sargent and Weiwei, because it would generally be hard to find similarities between the two. I feel, however, that the two definitely have some things in common. Weiss’ artwork criticized the corruption of the Chinese government, going against the norms of society and doing something that was against the rules. Sargent, similarly, explored different styles that were not always accepted by his fans. Madame X, for example, caused a scandal that resulted in Sargent leaving the country.
I find that most great artists have traveled a plethora of times, and Wei Wei is no exception. I had no idea he was a creative force behind the beautiful stadium they built in Beijing almost 8 years ago (oh my goodness it’s been that long?!). I also appreciate how he used his fame as a platform to bring about social justice. It got him in hot water quite a few times, but I have nothing but admiration and respect for someone who is not afraid to speak out against injustices and lack of human rights.
I can clearly see why you compared John Sargent Singer and Ai WeiWei. From reading your response and the NY Times article, I understand that WeiWei never wanted his nationality to conflict with his art. He says, “I want to forget about China and do something which surprises me. Why do I have to be labelled?” This sentiment that he holds is similar to what we see in Singer’s artwork. Our class read the paper that questioned whether Singer was an American or European painter. At the end of the day, I don’t think the word “Chinese”, “American”, or “European” should matter when you take in art.