Dan Williams
Marlow Groves
Tuesday, 22 October 2013
Artist Review
Last week, we went to Toronto
AGO gallery. It was my second time to visit there. This time, we were there for
Ai wei wei’s art exhibition. That was amazing and interesting to me, because it
is the first exhibition of an Asian artist I participated in Canada. It is very
hard to see Chinese artist exhibition in Toronto. Before we go to this
exhibition, we watch the Ai wei wei’s video on the internet. That was my first
time to know Ai wei wei. He is a Chinese contemporary artist, active in
sculpture installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social,
political and cultural criticism. He is artistic consultant on the Beijing
National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.
When I saw first sculpture in
Ai wei wei’s exhibition, it is Qing Dynasty furniture, which made without nails
and held together and the material by tradition joinery techniques. As a
Chinese, when I first saw this sculpture, it reminds me my grandfather, there
are lot of this kind of chair in his house. I think through this manipulation,
Ai wei wei is able to focus the viewer’s attention on the artisanship and
elegant simplicity of the original furniture’s design. There is a group of
sculpture behind this sculpture. In each chest, the artist make four circular
openings-in the upper and lower panels on the front and back. There is lot of
people use this hole to take picture in this gallery. In my opinion, I think Ai
wei wei’s intention is that he create the effect of showing every phase of moon
to visitors who walk through the circular opening.
In this gallery, the most shocking works for me is the name of the student
earthquake victims fond by the citizens’ investigation. It is black and white
print. In this list, which includes the name, year, class, and sex of each
victim, has grown to include over 5000 names. In this exhibition, the names are
printed in ink on white paper and displayed on the gallery walls. As a Chinese,
I think this works make me think. The government did not give us the name list
during the earthquake. When I remember the earthquake it makes me scared and
cry. The artist’s intention is show the real name and the function a name in
symbolizing a life is universal.
I remember there
is artwork in this exhibition. There is a lot of crab together. That was
amazing and exciting. This artwork name is “He xie”, the Chinese word for
“crab”, also sounds like the word for “harmonious”, which is part of the
Chinese Communist Party slogan: “ The realization of a harmonious society.” In
China, we cannot have individual freedom of expression online, because the
government has censorship. Therefore, we cannot use Facebook, YouTube and soon
in China.
I think this trip
it is very useful for me, because Ai wei wei is a Chinese artist, he use a lot
of traditional material to create artwork. I have a lot of new ideas and inspiration
after this trip. I think after that, I want to make some artwork and drawing in
Chinese tradition style.
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
booms
Grass BOOM!
Nature BOOM!
This was our reinterpretation of earthworks for VISA 3p90
Jessica Lavigne & Anissa Nunes
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