Ai Weiwei: Chinese Artist

Even with her previous experiences at Beijing University and at Big Joy Farm, Wong still held some belief that the Chinese system wasn’t as bad as it was sometimes made out to be. This event proved to her that it was. “The enormity of the massacre hit home…Although it had been years since I was a Maoist, I still had harbored some small hope for China. Now even that was gone” (259). As a reporter Wong was able to view the progression of the protests in leading up to the massacre, and in viewing it understood that the Chinese people were much more independent than they had previously demonstrated over the past 50 years. She had continuously seen the Chinese people following what they were told between learning in school or with physical labor, yet this protest was one of the first large scale displays of the unacceptance of the regime by the people, and the government did not know what to do with it. But because of this, Wong was able to recognize that the people were not reliant on this way of life that they had previously been bound to, but truly could lead for themselves and take control. The massacre awakened Wong both to the reality that the government was not acting to benefit the people, and that the people were more than capable of acting for

Through out all of history we have seen so many heroes and villains all over the world. But one place in particular was in China, with a leader who goes by the name of Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong was a well-known communist leader in china who actually lead the Chinese Communist Party. He is one of the most important people/historical figures in history. At first he was helping China at the beginning of his ruling, nut then his actions had cause China to completely fall and breakout into violence and complete chaos!! Changing the views of his people because whatever good he had done did not matter anymore from his great down fall. During his ruling though some believed that Mao

Ai Weiwei is a famous international artist and a most outspoken regional critic in China. Ai express his opinions though social media, visual arts and performing arts. In order to stop Ai’s criticism，Chinese authorities have shut down Ai’s blog, beat him, and take him to secret detention centers.

Everyone in China was indoctrinated to look up to the P.L.A. from when they were very. The P.L.A. were seen as heroes and when they came to visit Xin-hua's school the children called them Shu-Shu, which meant Uncle. On the night of June 4th everyone's life was traumatized, but she still had enough strength to keep going in spite of the feeling of devastation. The government had used the people's army against the people; this did not weaken her resolve. In a male dominated society it could be deemed strangle for a woman to be involved in political disobedience. Xin-hua's plan to see Alex and the tapes safely to Canada would require a lot of physical effort. Her physical ability was put to the test when pedaling the che away from a P.L.A. checkpoint. She was so close to accomplishing their goal when she was brutally killed. She died believing that if her country was governed properly the lives of her people could be improved. She had seen many of her friends, classmates and teachers slain by the P.L.A., but had been immensely determined to stand up for what the students believed in, even though she knew it could cost her life. It was her heroic determination to proliferate change within the government that caused her to go on, to help Alex and to give her life. Alex was affected badly by her death because they had become close and he respected her because of her beliefs. He respected the love and determination she had

Joshua Wong is one of the most well-known teen activists to date. He is doing a lot for his home city, Hong Kong, China, by revolting against China’s government. Joshua Wong is going above and beyond for not only Hong Kong, but the whole country of China. “ It’s time to renew the foreign policy of different countries toward Hong Kong ”, says Joshua himself. In 2014 Joshua Wong was all over the news about his student-led protest During this time Joshua Wong also had some struggles. Someone attempted to assault him at an airport, police set up roadblocks for his safety, hunger strikes were led by him. All of this for one teenage activist trying to support his rights for democracy.

Alex is a 17 year old teenager from Canada, who is a protagonist in the Young-adult fiction book Forbidden City by William.E.Bell. He and his father who works as a journalist travel to China in 1989 to record events and report them back to Canada. Then a protest stirs up and the Tiananmen Square massacre begins. Alex’s father is captured recording the “illegal” events and is arrested. Alex fights back and barely escapes with a few tapes of the protest. He is reunited with his dad, and they return to Canada with tapes of the horrifying events.

When Chinese President Xi visited Washington, President Obama brought up the human rights issue during a conference. The human rights abuse is becoming extremely exposed and other countries are starting to put pressure on China’s government to stop their harsh methods. According to the article,"Rubio:Xi Jinping 'devastating' for China Human Rights", by James Griffiths, “Human rights have taken something of a back foot in recent years when it comes to Sino-U.S. relations. President Barack Obama has been criticised by Republicans for not doing enough to pressure Beijing on the issue”(Griffiths.) Not only has the abuse been going on for decades but the violations of human rights are extremely harsh and serious. The abuses range from expensive fines to extrajudicial killings.

Growing up, Wang was also very independent from the people around her. During a personal email interview with Wang, she stated, “Yes, I think independent thinking is very important/courageous in a conformist society.” One important step Wang took in her life was to establish her own career path, instead of a traditional Chinese job, much like Lili. She wanted to pursue being an author, as well as study at an American University. Wang said of her parents, “They wished I had a ‘real’ job.” (“Beijing’s Badgirl” 2) While Wang lived in Beijing, she felt the need to independently support the movement in Tiananmen Square. She claimed “I went to Tiananmen for the freedom of press the freedom of everything” in an email interview. Ironically, it is Tiananmen itself that inspired her most independent work yet. Wang embarked on a journey to write a book on it, Lili, in English and all by herself. Incredibly, she accomplished this with little English experience beforehand, however, she was steadfast, saying “Sometimes I spent three days or a week just to search for a proper word […]” (“Conversation” 1) and finished ten years later. It was independent acts like these that were stirred into action by yet another value shared between Wang and her novel’s main character.

Mel Chin is a local Contemporary artist from Houston, Texas. He was born in 1951 and was the of his family to be born in the U.S. Mel Chin studied at Peabody College in Nashville, TN, graduating in 1975. Even at a young age Mel Chin had an interest in art. His parents owned a grocery store where Chin would make portraits out of ground meat. Even his high school English teacher Shirley Wiley could see the artistic potential within Chin. “Supplied with a special electricity from the Primal Source, M.Chin hums quietly along without the usual electrical short-circuit, for he is calm, pleasant, gentle, and exploited by us all, including me”, said Chin’s English teacher Shirley Wiley. He drew cartoons for the school paper and put a touch of his artistic skill on school projects. Chin has been active the contemporary art world from the late 1970’s to the present. Mel Chin has received numerous awards and grants for his works since early in this career. One of his earlier achievements was the Visual Arts Commission for the Houston Festival in 1982. Chin works with various mediums ranging from earthworks to sculptors and more. The ideas for Chin’s work usually come from social, political, and environmental issues. Mel Chin can be described as an artist that is difficult to categorize.

He is viewed as a threat to "harmonious society." The West did not invent revolutionaries. China has an illustrious history of dissidents, anti-authoritarian originals and eccentrics, from the drunken monks of pre-history to counter-culture artists living in today's Beijing. Ai himself is from this long line of free-thinkers and writers, marginalized both by the right and left.

I'm the mother of Ai-Yun Huang whoes class schedule has been changed since the second trimester. I'm writing to seek your help. My daughter was afraid to go to school these days because she found that she is in the same classes as the girl who bullied her. I hope my daughter can be in the different classes with her.

Hung Liu is a Chinese-American contemporary artist. In the Scales of History exhibition, her artworks mostly illuminates Chinese history. However, Dirty Pink expresses an American issue. From my perspective, this is the most striking artwork that she had created. It is an oil on canvas media. The painting was created in 2015. Although this painting does not eminently reflect Chinese history, it provides a sense of history throughout Liu’s lifetime. Taking this to account, she incorporates American history in Dirty Pink. Through shading, Liu creates volume to show a forlorn emotion. The line quality also expresses apathy. Besides, she uses the subtractive color system to control light with the mixed pigments. In this oil painting, the mixed

I decided to look at Ai Weiwei because he’s a main influence in my current project. In October I went to his exhibition in the Royal Academy in London. His installations were fascinating and captivating with a deep cultural meaning and a story running through every piece. Weiwei’s work is very much tied to the fight for free speech. ‘He has drawn attention throughout his career to injustice and corruption in the Chinese government, and has been imprisoned as a result. The exhibition at the RA looked back at artworks he has produced over the last 22 years.’ (BRACKER, A. 2015)

Born in 1957, Ai Weiwei is an artist and activist, who is heavily influenced by his father’s political thinking about China. He is well known for his combination of art and society. Ai Weiwei began as a self-taught artist and worked as a painter and cartoon designer in the Beijing Film Academy. In 1981, Ai went to America because he could not express freely in China. In the United States, he studied at the Parsons School of Design and Art Student League. When Ai flew back to China, he brought back different ideas from the American Democratic system. He did several political activities and was arrested in April 2011, and released in June 2011 (Lao). The museum will display Ai Weiwei’s artworks for the winter season because his works are valuable culturally, unique and going to be popular.

The film Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012) is a documentary directed by Alison Klayman. It follows contemporary Chinese artist and activist, Ai Weiwei, documenting how he stood up against the Chinese government and revealed the horrific actions the government commits. Ai Weiwei differs from other critics of the Chinese government because he uses aggressive words, while his fellow critics do not insult the government or the Communist Party. He uses several mediums to show how the government has acted including his blog and documentaries, showing what Chinese citizens go through on a daily basis.. Weiwei is incredibly brave for putting his life on the line to fight for a better country and a better world.