Artist, activist, master of the readymade style and political exile of his own country, Ai Weiwei is one of the best-known figures of the modern art world. His unique style and visual impact have allowed him to rise to great fame, but he has not sacrificed humility and reverence for his work and the causes he serves. In addition, he combines conceptual artistic practices with heavy realism, though exhibition curator Dr. Sabine Eckmann says that “modern and contemporary artists often view those as opposites.”

Ai’s new exhibition at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, titled “Bare Life,” is divided into two sections: “Bare Life” and “Rupture”. These sections—housed in separate spaces—showcase the wide range of tonality and subject matter in Ai’s work while giving breathtaking visual impressions that have to be seen to be believed. They explore ideas of past and present, human rights issues around the world, the role of art, the idea of the readymade and much more.

“Bare Life” refers to a life that has been stripped of what might make it a “good life”, a life that is base and without true fulfillment. This idea is explored through major human rights issues around the world, including the current refugee crisis and the civil rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese government. Both of these causes have personal impact for Weiwei, as a victim of detainment, beatings, the destruction of his studio, surveillance and exile by the Chinese government and as an advocate for the rights of refugees around the world. Covered in daunting and complex wallpapers, with the looming “Forever Bicycles” and multiple video screens surrounding the viewer on all sides, this section can prove visually confusing and takes several trips to fully digest.

“Forever Bicycles”

Christine Watridge | Student Life

“Forever Bicycles”

This piece immediately grabs the viewer’s attention as they enter the room, and it is incredibly dynamic, to the point that it almost appears to be moving in photographs. It is best to move around and through it to see how it frames other pieces in the gallery and how it changes in relation to the viewer. The piece is intended to reference Chinese mass production and is in conversation with Marcel Duchamp’s 1913 piece “Bicycle Wheel.”

Duchamp was the originator of the artistic practice of readymade, which involves displaying a mass-produced object as art. Ai is no stranger to this concept, but he alters it to send a larger message. As Ai put it himself, “I think China is my readymade. I think the political situation is my readymade.” This piece showcases exactly how Ai uses the concept as to reflect on his country and the regular injustices so many of its people face.

“Odyssey”

Justin Ziegelmuller | Student Life

“Odyssey”

This piece, titled after the Greek epic, is meant to tell the story of the cyclical and never-ending journey that refugees face around the world. It showcases six repeating friezes depicting war, unrest and constant movement. To accompany this massive mural, Ai installed several screens showing clips from various refugee camp locations and adding context and human faces to the tragedy depicted all around the viewer. The scale of the work and the depth of the human desperation shown create a visceral and emotional viewing experience that is difficult to digest in a single visit. This piece showcases Ai’s ability to speak through art and advocate for the vulnerable in a way that is both highly emotional and accessible. As Ai said in a press event the morning of the exhibition’s opening, “Art is not just entertainment. Some artists are doing something that is a little bit more. It is not good or bad, it’s just different. I think the show here really shows that aspect and really respects that.”

“Letters from Government Officials in Response to Ai Weiwei Studio’s Inquiries regarding the Sichuan Earthquake”

Justin Ziegelmuller | Student Life

“Letters from Government Officials in Response to Ai Weiwei Studio’s Inquiries regarding the Sichuan Earthquake”

This piece, in addition to many of the pieces and videos surrounding it, references Ai’s work as an activist in the aftermath of the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of the victims were schoolchildren studying in structurally unsound schools built by the Chinese government—the same government that refused to make the names of the victims public. Ai worked tirelessly to uncover those names, documenting his process in film and through his art as a memorial to the victims over the last decade. Many might view this as an absolution of justice for those victims, but Ai disagrees. When asked if he believed justice was possible through art, Ai replied, “I don’t really think so, but it is worth trying. Because it is hard and because it is impossible, you have to keep trying.”

The other section of the exhibition, “Rupture,” involves more conceptual ideas of the meeting point between worlds. “Rupture” is meant to evoke a type of break created between the past and the future when brought together by the present. This combination is evident throughout the gallery with pieces such as “Coca-Cola Vase” and “Through”. It covers topics from globalization to China’s cultural revolution to fragmentation as a mode of artistic practice. This gallery is smaller, with less room for guests, so it is recommended that those who want to view it register for a block of time in advance to guarantee a spot.

“Through”

Christine Watridge | Student Life

“Through”

This piece is the focal point of the gallery, and viewers are invited to walk through the piece and see the different angles of the wood beams and tables up close. It’s a highly dynamic viewing experience which gives a feeling of claustrophobia and openness simultaneously. The various pieces of the installation are placed together without glue and perfectly slotted together to resemble the construction of the tables. This style of installation, while effortful, has a profound visual impact. As Ai said of the exhibition, “To be right is very difficult. You can be very large or have a lot of audiences, but to make an exhibition an artist feels is just right…I’m a very picky man, you know? I criticize everything! I have total satisfaction with what the University did here. It’s just right.”

“Feet”

Christine Watridge | Student Life

The sculptures composing “Feet” are shown in the foreground while the lego triptych “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” is displayed on the wall.

This piece is an example of “found art”, in which found objects are presented together. They are reminiscent of readymades, as they are unaltered and displayed to allude to archeological museums. Pieces from Buddhist sculptures come together to reference the ways in which objects of cultural heritage have been erased or appropriated throughout the ages, especially in the contemporary museum world.

“Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn”

One of Ai’s most famous pieces, this popular triptych has been recreated in legos to add an additional sense of irreverence to the work. Throughout the gallery, these touches of irreverence and levity can be found despite the serious and often deeply tragic subject matter. “You think nothing should be that way, but as a reality it is so solid,” Ai explained. “You have to function both ways, otherwise you are not going to survive.”