The end of China’s Cultural Revolution and the decline of Mao’s radical state of regime in 1976 brought forth a new generation of artists who embraced western modern art. No longer forced to create art that serves political and propaganda purposes; the newfound freedom allowed many artists to experiment with western artistic languages and broke the boundaries of Chinese traditional art leading to the reinvention of Chinese constructions of art; marking the emergence of Chinese contemporary art.
In 2008, China was the second largest share of the contemporary art market in the western-dominated art industry (Zhang & Frazier, 2015). This signifies the evolution of Chinese contemporary art over the past decades. One of the clear evidence of the
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While living in Japan from 1986 to 1995, he has experimented with the properties of gunpowder leading to the development of his signature explosive events. From masterpieces like “Bringing to Venice What Macro Polo Forgot” in 1995 to the “Borrowing Your Enemy’s Arrows” and in 1999. Cai Guo Qiang used Chinese elements and stories in his art which attracted many westerners who are interested in the Chinese culture. Cai Guo Qiang also played important roles in the contemporary art scenes globally, creating unique artworks that put China’s art on the global stage.
However, Cai Guo Qiang’s works are often criticized for being nationalistic and dismissed as a political sham deployed for profit and career progression (Cotter, 1998). This essay consequently explores the relationship between Cai Guo Qiang and politicc through the analysis of two of Cai Guo Qiang’s iconic works- Venice’s Rent Collection Courtyard (1999) and the Firework displays in Beijing Olympics (2008). This essay will also argue that despite the political elements in Cai Guo Qiang’s art, it does not necessarily equate these art pieces as
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His use of political ideologies also serves as means to encourage people to reflect on China’s socialist past and reminds people of this significant period. Instead of having his art controlled by politics, Cao Guo Qiang managed to manipulate the use of politics as a stepping stone for him to spread his artistic principles of creating art that unifies the world. He shows us that political elements do not necessarily turn an art into a propaganda. Instead, this combination of politics and art is so much more powerful as it can promote a greater cause of tolerance and harmony of different cultures in the
When Qin Shihuangdi died in 210 B.C.E., he left behind a legacy that revealed the power he displayed in the form of thousands of terracotta warriors and other figures. As the first Chinese emperor, these sculptures reflect the political power he had, as well as give a glimpse of the wealth enjoyed but the emperor in the third century. The terra cotta army shows Qin Shihuangdi’s success as an emperor, but also shows the firm and possibly unfair rule that he displayed during his time as emperor. The tomb of the emperor and the fine quality of the artifacts found inside offer a show of the success and wealth of the first emperor of China. The terracotta army itself is a marvel of craftsmanship.
Few historical figures can stand alongside legends such as Napoleon and Alexander the Great but in his book, Heavenly Khan, Victor Cunrui Xiong Ph.D. tries to make a case for Tang Emperor Taizong, Li Shimin. Xiong attempts to write a historical fiction that appeals to a wide variety of readers. Heavenly Khan tells the story of Emperor Taizong who grew up in a period of devastation for the Chinese people. Taizong would grow to become a military commander, military genius, and emperor of the Tang Dynasty Doctor Xiong is a professor of History at Western Michigan University and is well versed in Asian history.
Ai Weiwei is an extraordinary man that puts his life at risk every day for the people of China. He has been in jail on several occasions because of the way he expresses himself openly and as a result, is watched very closely by the Chinese Government. Ai Weiwei uses his artwork to show his viewpoint on issues in China such as human rights and freedom of expression. Not only does he use his artwork to show this, he also uses social media such as Twitter and Instagram to reach out to the public. Ai Weiwei uses the art that he creates and social media to share his ideas to the world, which ultimately is helping him in his fight with the Chinese Government.
The essay “China Chic: East meets West” by Valerie Steele and John S. Major is immensely about the practice of foot binding in China. Foot binding is described as when a girl’s toes are tightly bandaged together under the soles of their feet. This leaves only the big toe visible at the beginning of the feet and this practice also breaks the arch of their foot. Foot binding began towards the end of the Tang Dynasty and did not begin to disappear until the middle of the twentieth century. This practice is said to have begun with dancers and professional female entertainers, but during the Song Dynasty it became familiar with those who lived in palaces and the elite.
Our perceptions change with our evolving experiences, and in a dynamic and fast-changing world, the distinctively visual offers a unique insight into how we discover and form our identities. Ang Lee’s 2000 Chinese-American martial arts film ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’, explores many manifestations of the distinctly visual in shaping our perceptions and values through the prism of Confucian, Daoist and other philosophies and cultures. Likewise, Mark Osborne’s animated short film, visually targets a range of audiences, to also explore freedom of expression in the pursuit of happiness. Thus while in vastly different mediums, both texts employ an array of visual techniques, illustrating the powerful effects of the distinctively visual to convey
On the other hand, it leaves a kind of profound thinking about the typical ordinary Chinese ideology and how great is the impact of such a decision on people’s
The ultimate solution for a problem should refer back to the problem itself. This is the Fundamental logic implied in the Mathematical theory: ∀a ∈ A : a R a. By purely interpreting the notations, one could deduce the concept: all the integers “a” that belong to (∈) Set “A” has a relation (R) with themselves. In other words, binary relation R over the set A is reflexive, if every element in Set A is self-related. Overall, the notion of Reflexive Relation is constituted.
Ai Wei Wei’s politically fueled installation Remembering covered the façade of the Haus der Kunst in Munich, Germany in 2009, where he had a show titled, So Sorry. The work, Remembering, which measured one hundred meters by ten meters, was compiled of nine thousand children’s backpacks. Using simple colors and design techniques, Ai Wei Wei’s installation not only catches the viewers’ attention with sheer size, but also ignites a deeper emotional spark and fueled a lasting conversation whose reach not only initiated controversy with Chinese and German natives, Chinese governmental officials, and Ai Weiwei himself, but also internationally. Using five rudimentary primary and secondary colors: red, blue, yellow, green as well as white these uniform
Marco Polo became Europe’s primary source of information about China until the 19th century, and even since then people did not completely believe his stories as he did not write it himself, they are of no value as sources of what he observed on his travels. Many doubt Polo going to China as his stories do not mention for example the Great Wall, and many other advances during his time there and even before he reached there. Although Polo’s credit of being in China is believed to have been due to one of the things he had brought back such as printing and explosive
Prehistory is age before the advent of the written word. This does not imply that this period was inadequate in diverse types of culture or communication: ancient art has been found as early as c. 30,000 BCE. The centuries that took after, in the district encompassing the Mediterranean Sea, are for the most part thought to be the start of human civilization. Ever-developing urban centers, awe-inspiring works of, and sophisticated technologies and design advanced in Mesopotamia, and in old Egypt, Greece, and Rome. The Sumerians of Mesopotamia honed the soonest known type of writing; the Greeks ' accentuation on humankind and the individual led to democracy; and Roman authority and military organization framed the main first empire of the world,
BOB VANASSEN ART 101/ELLIS THIRD SHORT ESSAY March 10, 2018 ART ANALYSIS/CRITICISM-THIRD SHORT ESSAY THE EMPEROR’S TOMB INTRODUCTION: Although there were a number of other art works that I found of interest, in particular works of the building architects, I was fascinated by the sheer size and detail of the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (fig 12-12, page 282 of “A World of Art”) which incidentally gives a slightly different spelling than all the other sources I investigated.
Personal Statement I would like to confirm that it is my motivating of Chinese culture that ignited my passion for cultural and creative industry. As a Tourism Management major student, I was able to explore the Chinese diversified cultures and landscapes, which offered me an insightful understanding of the Chinese cultural development. Under the guidance of commercialization, some cultural heritages have developed into huge tourism souvenir markets full of counterfeit and shoddy products. The over-commercialization reveals the fact that the Chinese culture is facing a severe situation. The country calls for a better cultural development strategy, which cultural and creative industry can offer.
To Live suggests that The Cultural Revolution was a time when communist students took authority over Chinese citizens, and the historical event was similar. In the film, Fengxia dies in the hospital because the red guards are performing jobs of professionals and do not know what to do. In historical records, the red guards accused professional workers of crimes and resumed their jobs for them without experience. The film accurately shows how red guards, or young communist followers had control of the maintenance in China. In order to feel safe, citizens would need to be a true communist and throw away old prophecies or ideas.
Background Information: Yun-Fei Ji was born in Beijing, China in 1963, it is here, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution that he was raised and separated from his parents at the age of two. After being torn from his parents at this young age he was taken to a collective farm outside Hangzhou where he was raised by his grandmothers. This period of his life highly influenced to his art as he recollects memories the oppressed society enforced by the Mao Dynasty and of his grandmother’s telling him ghost stories and folk tales to pass the hours in the absence of television and radios. Experience: Later on in his life Ji started studying at various tertiary institutions, first he was accepted into the Central Academy of Fine Arts (Beijing) where he earned his BFA and discovered his unique style: “[finding] his voice as an artist” who created a way of exposing not only the dark side of the tyrannical
The traditional Chinese cultures have a development process for thousand years, now we are creating another kind of traditional culture especially under the wave of globalization. Although the form of expressing or performing the culture experienced some changes but the basic idea and belief behind rarely changed. To promote Chinese culture we would refer to the essence of Chinese wisdom so the following is actual practicing of different dimensions of Chinese traditions which show the beauty of China. The family concept is the essence of Chinese culture.