From surveillance cameras to smashed ceramics to provocative photography, Ai Weiwei is one of China’s most unapologetic contemporary artists and activists.
As an activist, Ai Wiewei has been “openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights.” As an artist, he has produced a multifaceted array of works that captures his intense political believes.
One of his most notable works was inspired from the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes that killed over 5,000 children due to poor school campus construction. The artwork titled Straight is an installation that is made from over 90 tons of steel reinforcing bars that was recovered from the collapsed schools in the Sichuan province. The 150 mangled steel rods were meticulously straightened by hand and laid out in fragmented ripples that were designed to resemble fault lines.
Straight is provocative as it is heartbreaking. It evokes a sense of hopelessness as the steel bars failed to support the structures they once held and it commemorates the lives lost during the earthquake. Ai Weiwei’s created it to serve not only as a memorial, but to square blame that the Chinese government should have done better at constructing the schools given their location on the seismic fault lines.
As a reaction to the artwork the Chinese government persecuted Ai Weiwei and he was detained for several days in prison. However, with a promise never to be silenced Ai Weiwei’s overall moto is to “Be involved. Speak your mind clearly. Let your voice be heard.”
This project was challenging as it involved learning several new software's within a short amount of time. The voiceover was used with Audacity, which I actually found easy to use. However, I did loose several draft files and audio. I'm not sure if it was user error or a computer data issue, but I am curious to use this software more often. The video was actually difficult. Organizing the photos with the voice over was confusing and the steps involved was rather tedious. But the end result was very satisfying! I would love to do this again for future lessons as a way of condensing them, especially for virtual teaching. I also want to incorporate this into student projects for presentations, especially if virtual learning continues.