Ai Weiwei and Cai Guo-Qiang are both Chinese-born artists that are featured heavily in the international art world. Both have different messages and different approaches to their art, but each bring something uniquely Chinese to the art world. While both have different backgrounds and different artistic messages, each seeks to address problems that they perceive are associated with living in the Communist-controlled country of China.
Ai Weiwei is arguably one of the most well-known of the Chinese dissenting artists. He was most recently in the news for his jail term as a result of his political and artistic representation of the issues that are problematic for Chinese people in the Communist-controlled country today. One of the main themes of his work deals with the issue of surveillance, privacy, and government control. Perhaps one of his most controversial works, entitled “Study of Perspective-- Tiananmen” shows the artist giving the middle finger to the Communist party headquarters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing-- the place where the famous Tiananmen Square massacre happened in 1989 (Unknown). Although blunt, it demonstrates Ai Weiwei’s perspective on the Chinese government quite clearly-- he is no fan of their policies, their history, or their methods for controlling the populace (Unknown).
However, Ai Weiwei is not merely reactionary; he is also deeply contemplative of the Chinese culture and the Chinese experience. In his piece entitled “Descending Light,” Ai Weiwei uses a number of different interesting visual features to investigate the Chinese mentality and experience in modern society. In “Descending Light,” Ai Weiwei uses the theme of the lucky red Chinese lantern to create a visually stunning installation piece that reflects a number of deeply Chinese themes. First, “Descending Light” reflects the lucky Chinese lantern; the red is commonly used in festivals and other holiday occasions in China. However, unlike many of Ai Weiwei’s chandelier projects, “Descending Light” is tattered, bent, and misshapen; some art theorists theorize that this represents the downward trend of Chinese culture and political power in the current Chinese government (Unknown).
Cai Guo-Qiang, on the other hand, is an entirely different type of artist from Ai Weiwei. Although he also examines thematic ideas that are specific to the Chinese cultural experience, he examines them in such a way that utilizes different media and different manipulations of time and space. PBS writes:
These projects, while poetic and ambitious at their core, aim to establish an exchange between viewers and the larger universe. For his work, Cai draws on a wide variety of materials, symbols, narratives, and traditions: elements of feng shui, Chinese medicine and philosophy, images of dragons and tigers, roller coasters, computers, vending machines, and gunpowder. he has reflected upon his use of explosives both as metaphor and material. ‘Why is it important to make these violent explosions beautiful? Because the artist, like an alchemist, has the ability to transform certain energies, using poison against poison, using dirt and getting gold’ (Unknown).
Essentially, Cai Guo-Qiang is very focused on bringing a sense of Chinese traditionalism to new materials, and has long used gunpowder in his works of art as a medium and as a statement piece. It is important to consider Cai Guo-Qiang’s work in the context of the current and historical Chinese culture, as well as in the context of the global world culture.
The use of gunpowder in art is very interesting, especially given the history of gunpowder; gunpowder has long been used in China in fireworks, and does not necessarily have the same connotation of violence, pain, and destruction that it has in the West. However, increasing globalization has led to artists like Cai Guo-Qiang having a much more global perspective on the meaning of different materials like gunpowder, and this allows the artist to investigate the intersection of these materials and media through different cultural identities and global realities.
Cai Guo-Qiang and Ai Weiwei are from vastly different worlds. Sometimes it is difficult for Westerners to understand the vastly different types of cultural realities in China; however, China is a massive country. Ai Weiwei is from Beijing, and Cai Guo-Qiang is from a city on the southwestern coast of the country; as a result, these two artists have had vastly different experiences in the country and very different experiences with the cultural identity of the Chinese people. Ai Weiwei is extremely confrontational in his artistic style, often using his art to speak directly against the Chinese Communist Party and the actions that the Party takes against the average Chinese citizen; Cai Guo-Qiang is less directly confrontational, but still uses his art to speak against the restrictive nature of the Chinese Communist Party.
Speaking out against the Chinese Communist Party, whether through art or directly, is extremely dangerous. Ai Weiwei has been imprisoned a number of times for his transgressions; Cai Guo-Qiang, while less well-known, has also come under fire by the Chinese Communist Party as a result of the many pieces of art that he created that are less than complementary. However, both of these artists, however different they may be, are engaged in defying the political corruption and oppression within China. The different methods they use to defy the government are merely incidental; their shared desire to seek out freedom is what is notable in their art.
“Study of Perspective-- Tiananmen.” By Ai Weiwei, 1995-2003
“Descending Light.” By Ai Weiwei, 2007
“One Night Stand,” Cai Guo-Qiang. 2013.
Works cited
Unknown. "Explore Artists | Art21 | PBS." Explore Artists, 2014. Web. 3 Apr 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists>.
Unknown. "Ai Weiwei." PBS, 2014. Web. 6 Apr 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/ai-weiwei>.
Unknown. "Cai Guo-Qiang." PBS, 2014. Web. 6 Apr 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/art21/artists/cai-guo-qiang>.
