Ai Weiwei in Florence and Amsterdam: Crossing national, artistic and ethical borders?
Contenuto
Titolo
Ai Weiwei in Florence and Amsterdam: Crossing
national, artistic and ethical borders?
national, artistic and ethical borders?
Data di inizio
January 2017
Ambiti e contenuto
"Ai Weiwei is a crucial political artist in our time. Currently, his exhibitions are
prominently present in two cities of the two countries where our research is
based: Italy and the Netherlands. Because his artwork addresses refugee
migration, we visited the exhibitions to see how his work represents current social
issues related to migration. In this post that we based on our observations, we
explore ways in which Ai Weiwei’s art connects to our research: the study of
migration in oral and visual memory."
prominently present in two cities of the two countries where our research is
based: Italy and the Netherlands. Because his artwork addresses refugee
migration, we visited the exhibitions to see how his work represents current social
issues related to migration. In this post that we based on our observations, we
explore ways in which Ai Weiwei’s art connects to our research: the study of
migration in oral and visual memory."
Autore del documento
Iris van Huis ; Milica Trakilović
Segnatura o codice identificativo
Lingua
ENG
Condizioni che regolano l’accesso
Pubblico
Citazione bibliografica
Iris van Huis ; Milica Trakilović, Ai Weiwei in Florence and Amsterdam: Crossing national, artistic and ethical borders?, « BABE Research Project », European University Institute, january 2017.
Autore della riproduzione digitale
EUI, Department of History and Civilisation
Formato
.pdf
ESC - Ente schedatore
L.U.Di.Ca.
Creatore
Giacomo Carmagnini
Data di creazione
23/06/2021
riassunto
Let us start with the most visible and impressive work, which is in Italy. In Florence,
Ai Weiwei’s exhibition is located in three different locations: the Strozzi Palace, the
Uffizi and the Food Market. At the Strozzi Palace, 22 orange rubber life boats hang
on the early 16th century facade (the work is called “Reframe”). The round bow of
the boats align beautifully with the arched windows of the old palace. The rubber 2
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
boats are a clear physical reference to the boats used by refugees to cross the
Mediterranean, in life risking ways. Using the boats as decoration can be seen as,
besides a symbol of border crossing, as on the border of what can be considered
“ethical”: utilizing the struggle of others for dramatic effect. In our research we
interview people who have crossed the Mediterranean in these life threatening
ways. We wonder how such a representation would be seen by the subjects who
cross the Mediterranean, but perhaps they are not the aimed audience.
“Reframing” brings important issues closer to residents and visitors who might feel a
great distance between themselves and the cross-Mediterranean migration. The
artwork crosses borders between the interior and exterior of the museum, using the
outside walls instead of only the spaces inside. Using publically visible space in this
“shocking”/disrupting way connects the affluent city centre, surrounded by high end
fashion stores, to refugee migration, bringing what is perhaps considered distant to
inhabitants and rich international tourists who walk the streets of Florence. In this
way, the artwork disrupts and raises questions.
We also noted that “Reframe” is highly reminiscent of Kallilopi Lemos’
“Crossroads,” an artistic trilogy (2006-2009) most notable for the installation at
Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, which consisted of stacked boats, abandoned and
subsequently collected in Greece and Turkey, that had carried migrants and refugees
to European shores. Like “Reframe,” this work represents a de-territorialization of
European borders, or a re-configuration that brings the border zone from the
periphery into the affluent center. Lemos’ piece was strategically chosen to coincide
with the 20-year anniversary of the Berlin Wall, reminding Europe that while one
liberatory struggle was being celebrated, another ideological barrier was being
constructed. Similarly, Weiwei’s “Reframe” can be considered a border-crossing
work in the sense that it disrupts the center-periphery binary. Moreover, being
placed on the museum’s outside walls, it foregoes the traditionally designated art
space and in making this piece “accessible for all,” it forms an institutional critique
as well.3
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
Figure 2. Kallilopi Lemos, "Crossroads." 2006-2009. Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/bob-chaundy/kallilopilemos-sculpting-_b_8702374.html))
Inside the museum, Ai Weiwei’s art addresses several social issues, of which
some are related to his personal experiences. In his work on the 2008 Sichuan
earthquake, he responds to the poor way in which the government constructed
classrooms in an earthquake sensitive area: the art shows a snake made out of
schoolbags to represent schoolchildren who had lost their lives (perhaps chosen
here because of Italy’s experiences with earthquakes). Some of his work is clearly
anti-establishment in a broad and international way. In photographs he pulls his
middle finger towards establishment buildings and national symbols: government
buildings and buildings like the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum. The same
photographs are shown publicly inside the food market of Florence.
Ai Weiwei addresses surveillance in his country of origin and his personal
experiences with the phenomenon by using surveillance in reverse: photographing
and filming the officials who watch him. This work of art shows the power of
visibility in contemporary times, which works in constraining, but also enabling and
liberating ways when used in reverse. Weiwei seems to be aware of the panoptical
ideology of our times, which operates according to surveillance as a disciplinary
practice and produces subjects that are not so much coerced by law, but actively
reinforce it by participating in its regulatory mechanisms (Foucault, 1977). Weiwei’s
obsessive documentation of himself as well as the world around him is a response to
the constant disciplinary gaze that is set on him, an attempt to re-direct it and reappropriate it through his own visual field by creating a representational overload. 4
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
A second explicit reference to migration in the Strozzi exhibition is his
representation of famous “exiles”. Among his artworks are portraits of noted
historical Italian/Florentinian artists and scientists, such as Dante and Galileo. By
representing well-known artists and scientist who were exiled, Ai Weiwei connects
himself to the topic of exile in Italian history. He bridges the location of the
exhibition and its history to his own memory and to the broader topic of exile.
Clearly influenced by pop art, he crosses borders between high culture to popular
culture by making the portraits (humorously) out of Lego bricks. The Lego portraits
of famous historical “exiles” pose questions about differences between the exile and
the refugee. One seems to have more status than the other. Especially in the current
socio-political climate in Europe, “refugee” is a loaded term carrying with it notions
of dispossession and conflict, but not infrequently also backwardness and religious
and political fundamentalism. Although both might be arguably considered
travellers in a broad sense, “exile” is not so much marked by forceful relocation as it
is by heroism and even cosmopolitanism, its movements less constricted. By
connecting himself to famous exiles, Weiwei puts himself in “good company”, in a
way he increases his own status as a dissident and exile. At the same time, he
popularizes (or de-elitizes) the historical dissidents, by making them out of Lego
pieces.
Similar but different bridges are crossed in the exhibition in Netherlands. In
the Foam photography museum the Ai Weiwei exhibition is smaller, only covering
several spaces in the museum. It is however more specifically focussed on migration.
At the entrance there is a self-portrait of Ai Weiwei, standing at the sea shore,
holding a board with the text: “Safe passage”. One room is used for his work on
surveillance, with some of the same photo’s as in Florence. Two rooms show many
photographs of refugee migration. Weiwei has covered the walls of these two rooms
in almost its entirety with mobile phone pictures of people on the move: he shows
photographs he made in Greece, Turkey, Germany, Libanon, Gaza, Jordan, Israel and
Kenya (the work is called “Iphone Wallpaper”). The photo’s show refugees and
remnants of their journeys: rubber boats, improvised camps, people wrapped in
thermo blankets, faces of refugees that in most cases show hope and resilience, but
also some despair. There are regularly selfies in between the photograps: the artist
with a refugee, volunteer or professional working with the refugees. 5
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
Figure 3. Ai Weiwei, "Iphone Wallpaper" and “Surveillance Camera” in Foam Amsterdam. © Babe Project 2013-
2018. All rights reserved
The amount of photos is staggering. A description reads that there are
16.500 photos on the walls. The large amount enables to perceive movement of
people and sometimes almost comes across like film. The large amount also
represents the scale of the mobility of people who seek safety. At the same time it is
relatable for current younger generations who take unprecedented amounts of
photographs of their everyday experiences, including many selfies. The photographs
are the same size at the images on “our” smartphones. The selfie is a medium that is
used regularly by Ai Weiwei, (again) connecting art to popular culture and therefore
becoming relatable for a large audience.
The selfie moreover puts the artist into the picture and with his familiar face
brings us (the viewers) closer. By using his own image there is however also a risk of
self-indulgence, for which Ai Weiwei is questioned by others (Jones, 2016). At the
opening in Amsterdam (according to someone who works at the museum), Ai
Weiwei was openly criticized for “using” migration for his own work, for comparing
his own situation to those of refugees who leave everything behind, while he is a
successful artist who owns several houses in several countries. An image that was
specifically criticized (not shown in both exhibitions) was one of Ai Weiwei posing as
Alan Kurdi, laying face down on the beach with his arms lifeless beside him, which
according to some is crossing ethical boundaries. The same ethical boundaries have
been crossed for some time now; the overrepresentation of refugees in European
and world media has been sensationalist and exploitative, strategically using
traumatic occurrences as “clickbait” to increase readership and viewership. Rather
than viewing Weiwei’s self-insertions into these narratives as exploitative, it is
equally possible that they might be pointing to the static overrepresentations of 6
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
refugees in the media in the first place. The fact that it is difficult to determine
whether Ai’s work is ultimately subversive or exploitative leaves us with a tension
that in itself might be productive for dialogue.
Altogether, it becomes clear that Ai Weiwei crosses many borders. His art
bridges between personal and collective experience, between high and low culture,
between history and modernity, as well as national borders, not only literally, but
also by combining visual memories across national and historical borders and
placing them it in the same room. This border crossing is multi-faceted; it is
disruptive and uneasy. At the same time, these tensions make the works stand out
(which is not to say that ethical questions do not remain important). As Mary
Douglas puts it: “matter” that does not align with society’s categories are often
considered “dirt” (Douglas, 2003). Therefore, they are either hidden and seen as
taboo, or ascribed powers to disrupt and to call attention to something. What is a
political artist to do than to be questionable and let viewers question distinctions
and borders?
References
Douglas, Mary (2003), Purity and danger. An Analysis of Concepts of
Pollution and Taboo, London: Routledge.
Foucault, Michel (1977), Discipline and punish. The Birth of the Prison,
translated from the French by A. Sheridan, New York: Pantheon.
Jones, Jonathan (2016), Ai Weiwei is making a feature Film: I’m worried , The Guardian, May 3 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/may/03/ai-weiwei-feature-film-refugee-crisis
Ai Weiwei’s exhibition is located in three different locations: the Strozzi Palace, the
Uffizi and the Food Market. At the Strozzi Palace, 22 orange rubber life boats hang
on the early 16th century facade (the work is called “Reframe”). The round bow of
the boats align beautifully with the arched windows of the old palace. The rubber 2
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
boats are a clear physical reference to the boats used by refugees to cross the
Mediterranean, in life risking ways. Using the boats as decoration can be seen as,
besides a symbol of border crossing, as on the border of what can be considered
“ethical”: utilizing the struggle of others for dramatic effect. In our research we
interview people who have crossed the Mediterranean in these life threatening
ways. We wonder how such a representation would be seen by the subjects who
cross the Mediterranean, but perhaps they are not the aimed audience.
“Reframing” brings important issues closer to residents and visitors who might feel a
great distance between themselves and the cross-Mediterranean migration. The
artwork crosses borders between the interior and exterior of the museum, using the
outside walls instead of only the spaces inside. Using publically visible space in this
“shocking”/disrupting way connects the affluent city centre, surrounded by high end
fashion stores, to refugee migration, bringing what is perhaps considered distant to
inhabitants and rich international tourists who walk the streets of Florence. In this
way, the artwork disrupts and raises questions.
We also noted that “Reframe” is highly reminiscent of Kallilopi Lemos’
“Crossroads,” an artistic trilogy (2006-2009) most notable for the installation at
Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, which consisted of stacked boats, abandoned and
subsequently collected in Greece and Turkey, that had carried migrants and refugees
to European shores. Like “Reframe,” this work represents a de-territorialization of
European borders, or a re-configuration that brings the border zone from the
periphery into the affluent center. Lemos’ piece was strategically chosen to coincide
with the 20-year anniversary of the Berlin Wall, reminding Europe that while one
liberatory struggle was being celebrated, another ideological barrier was being
constructed. Similarly, Weiwei’s “Reframe” can be considered a border-crossing
work in the sense that it disrupts the center-periphery binary. Moreover, being
placed on the museum’s outside walls, it foregoes the traditionally designated art
space and in making this piece “accessible for all,” it forms an institutional critique
as well.3
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
Figure 2. Kallilopi Lemos, "Crossroads." 2006-2009. Source: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/bob-chaundy/kallilopilemos-sculpting-_b_8702374.html))
Inside the museum, Ai Weiwei’s art addresses several social issues, of which
some are related to his personal experiences. In his work on the 2008 Sichuan
earthquake, he responds to the poor way in which the government constructed
classrooms in an earthquake sensitive area: the art shows a snake made out of
schoolbags to represent schoolchildren who had lost their lives (perhaps chosen
here because of Italy’s experiences with earthquakes). Some of his work is clearly
anti-establishment in a broad and international way. In photographs he pulls his
middle finger towards establishment buildings and national symbols: government
buildings and buildings like the Eiffel Tower or the Colosseum. The same
photographs are shown publicly inside the food market of Florence.
Ai Weiwei addresses surveillance in his country of origin and his personal
experiences with the phenomenon by using surveillance in reverse: photographing
and filming the officials who watch him. This work of art shows the power of
visibility in contemporary times, which works in constraining, but also enabling and
liberating ways when used in reverse. Weiwei seems to be aware of the panoptical
ideology of our times, which operates according to surveillance as a disciplinary
practice and produces subjects that are not so much coerced by law, but actively
reinforce it by participating in its regulatory mechanisms (Foucault, 1977). Weiwei’s
obsessive documentation of himself as well as the world around him is a response to
the constant disciplinary gaze that is set on him, an attempt to re-direct it and reappropriate it through his own visual field by creating a representational overload. 4
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
A second explicit reference to migration in the Strozzi exhibition is his
representation of famous “exiles”. Among his artworks are portraits of noted
historical Italian/Florentinian artists and scientists, such as Dante and Galileo. By
representing well-known artists and scientist who were exiled, Ai Weiwei connects
himself to the topic of exile in Italian history. He bridges the location of the
exhibition and its history to his own memory and to the broader topic of exile.
Clearly influenced by pop art, he crosses borders between high culture to popular
culture by making the portraits (humorously) out of Lego bricks. The Lego portraits
of famous historical “exiles” pose questions about differences between the exile and
the refugee. One seems to have more status than the other. Especially in the current
socio-political climate in Europe, “refugee” is a loaded term carrying with it notions
of dispossession and conflict, but not infrequently also backwardness and religious
and political fundamentalism. Although both might be arguably considered
travellers in a broad sense, “exile” is not so much marked by forceful relocation as it
is by heroism and even cosmopolitanism, its movements less constricted. By
connecting himself to famous exiles, Weiwei puts himself in “good company”, in a
way he increases his own status as a dissident and exile. At the same time, he
popularizes (or de-elitizes) the historical dissidents, by making them out of Lego
pieces.
Similar but different bridges are crossed in the exhibition in Netherlands. In
the Foam photography museum the Ai Weiwei exhibition is smaller, only covering
several spaces in the museum. It is however more specifically focussed on migration.
At the entrance there is a self-portrait of Ai Weiwei, standing at the sea shore,
holding a board with the text: “Safe passage”. One room is used for his work on
surveillance, with some of the same photo’s as in Florence. Two rooms show many
photographs of refugee migration. Weiwei has covered the walls of these two rooms
in almost its entirety with mobile phone pictures of people on the move: he shows
photographs he made in Greece, Turkey, Germany, Libanon, Gaza, Jordan, Israel and
Kenya (the work is called “Iphone Wallpaper”). The photo’s show refugees and
remnants of their journeys: rubber boats, improvised camps, people wrapped in
thermo blankets, faces of refugees that in most cases show hope and resilience, but
also some despair. There are regularly selfies in between the photograps: the artist
with a refugee, volunteer or professional working with the refugees. 5
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
Figure 3. Ai Weiwei, "Iphone Wallpaper" and “Surveillance Camera” in Foam Amsterdam. © Babe Project 2013-
2018. All rights reserved
The amount of photos is staggering. A description reads that there are
16.500 photos on the walls. The large amount enables to perceive movement of
people and sometimes almost comes across like film. The large amount also
represents the scale of the mobility of people who seek safety. At the same time it is
relatable for current younger generations who take unprecedented amounts of
photographs of their everyday experiences, including many selfies. The photographs
are the same size at the images on “our” smartphones. The selfie is a medium that is
used regularly by Ai Weiwei, (again) connecting art to popular culture and therefore
becoming relatable for a large audience.
The selfie moreover puts the artist into the picture and with his familiar face
brings us (the viewers) closer. By using his own image there is however also a risk of
self-indulgence, for which Ai Weiwei is questioned by others (Jones, 2016). At the
opening in Amsterdam (according to someone who works at the museum), Ai
Weiwei was openly criticized for “using” migration for his own work, for comparing
his own situation to those of refugees who leave everything behind, while he is a
successful artist who owns several houses in several countries. An image that was
specifically criticized (not shown in both exhibitions) was one of Ai Weiwei posing as
Alan Kurdi, laying face down on the beach with his arms lifeless beside him, which
according to some is crossing ethical boundaries. The same ethical boundaries have
been crossed for some time now; the overrepresentation of refugees in European
and world media has been sensationalist and exploitative, strategically using
traumatic occurrences as “clickbait” to increase readership and viewership. Rather
than viewing Weiwei’s self-insertions into these narratives as exploitative, it is
equally possible that they might be pointing to the static overrepresentations of 6
BABE Research Project/European University Institute/january 2017
refugees in the media in the first place. The fact that it is difficult to determine
whether Ai’s work is ultimately subversive or exploitative leaves us with a tension
that in itself might be productive for dialogue.
Altogether, it becomes clear that Ai Weiwei crosses many borders. His art
bridges between personal and collective experience, between high and low culture,
between history and modernity, as well as national borders, not only literally, but
also by combining visual memories across national and historical borders and
placing them it in the same room. This border crossing is multi-faceted; it is
disruptive and uneasy. At the same time, these tensions make the works stand out
(which is not to say that ethical questions do not remain important). As Mary
Douglas puts it: “matter” that does not align with society’s categories are often
considered “dirt” (Douglas, 2003). Therefore, they are either hidden and seen as
taboo, or ascribed powers to disrupt and to call attention to something. What is a
political artist to do than to be questionable and let viewers question distinctions
and borders?
References
Douglas, Mary (2003), Purity and danger. An Analysis of Concepts of
Pollution and Taboo, London: Routledge.
Foucault, Michel (1977), Discipline and punish. The Birth of the Prison,
translated from the French by A. Sheridan, New York: Pantheon.
Jones, Jonathan (2016), Ai Weiwei is making a feature Film: I’m worried , The Guardian, May 3 https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/may/03/ai-weiwei-feature-film-refugee-crisis
trascritto da
Giacomo Carmagnini
Licenza d'uso
Libera
Collezione
Annotazioni
There are no annotations for this resource.