There are several artists and works that inspire me, yet the two main artists that stands out for me is Ai Weiwei and Yayoi Kusama. Both of these artists do installation pieces designed for certain spaces yet each artist has a significant meaning behind each work.
Lets start off with Ai Weiwei. Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist and an activist. As he is a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese government’s stance on democracy and human rights. He has created works that investigate government corruption and cover-ups. One work in particular was based on the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of Tofu-dreg schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Ai Weiwei responded dramatically to the children’s death due to the earthquake. Weiwei created an installation Remembering on the façade of the Haus der Kunst in Munich. It was constructed from nine thousand children’s backpacks. The backpacks spelled out “she lived happily for seven years in this world” in Chinese characters. This was a quote taken from a mother whose child died in the earthquake.
Ai Weiwei responds to serious matters that make the audience move in different ways. Thousands of young students lost their lives due to the earthquake; all that was left was bags and study materials. Weiwei wants the audience to realize individual life, media and the lives of the young students are serving very different purposes. The lives of those students will eventually disappear and will be forgotten by everyone, this is why Ai Weiwei created this work.
Although this was a beautiful work, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing airport due to his criticism of the Chinese government, the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs declared that he is under investigation for alleged economic crimes. Weiwei also suffered from severe beating from the Chinese police due to his work. Weiwei underwent emergency brain surgery for internal bleeding as a result for the assault.
Ai Weiwei inspires me to create works that comment on social and political issues within Australia or around the world, yet the abuse he has gotten from his country kind of scares me off that idea. This is why Yayoi Kusama works inspire me, as they aren’t about political matters.
Yayoi Kusama is a Japanese contemporary artist who works with sculpture and installations. Her works are based in conceptual art as she can show attributes of feminism, minimalism and surrealism. Yayoi Kusama is acknowledged as one of the most important living artist to come out of Japan. It’s a very different environment compared to Ai Weiwei.
One of Yayoi Kusama works that inspires me is Fireflies on the water (2002). The work is carefully constructed environment of lights, mirrors and water giving each individual viewer a transcend to their sense of self. Her work brings out a childlike wonderment within her installation, something I try to create within my works.
Both of these installations inspire and stimulate me in different ways. Whether it is politically like Ai Weiwei works or conceptually like Yayoi Kusama works. Whenever I create a work I tend to think how would Ai Weiwei tackle this politically or how would Yayoi Kusama comment or improve my work?
Reference:
Khan Academy. (2018). Ai Weiwei, “Remembering” and the Politics of Dissent. [online] Available at: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/global-culture/global-art-architecture/a/ai-weiwei-remembering-and-the-politics-of-dissent [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].
My Modern Met. (2018). Spectacular Fireflies on the Water Light Exhibit. [online] Available at: https://mymodernmet.com/yayoi-kusama-fireflies-on-the-water/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2018].
Zoe Majstorovic 