Ai Weiwei

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Culture is defined as “the beliefs, customs, arts, etc., of a particular society, group, place, or time” (Merriam-Webster). Around the world, each country has its own designated culture where people either honor or rebel against it. In China, the Chinese view their culture as different from many. Ai Weiwei, a Chinese activist born in 1957, is known as the most dangerous man to many in China. He is know to rebel against the Chinese culture, which brought many struggles upon him. Ai Weiwei’s cultural rebellion includes being very critical towards the Chinese government and being outspoken towards human rights. He “has [even] characterized his increasingly dangerous jousting with the Chinese government as a kind of performance art” (The New York Times). He communicates his messages through his blogs, social media accounts, and most importantly his artwork. Weiwei is well known for his Tate Exhibition with the porcelain sunflower seeds, his work with the Bird’s Nest Stadium in China, and the 2008 earthquake in China. Ai Weiwei both honors and criticizes his culture through his work with traditional urns, the Bird’s Nest Stadium, and sunflower seeds.
Ai Weiwei is known for his acts of cultural rebellion such as creating his understanding of artwork with valuable urns. He uses artwork as a way to successfully communicate with others and express himself. Weiwei was pictured while dropping the Han Dynasty Urn which was very valuable to the Chinese culture as it is very antique and unique. Through the actions of Weiwei with the vase, he criticizes his culture. When he broke the vase, he sent the message out to his people about his beliefs on what should be still considered valuable. He believes that the broken vase shows different ways, ...

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...ird's Nest." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 16 Feb. 2005. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
"Is Ai Weiwei China's Most Dangerous Man?." Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. .
"NY Times." NY Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014. .
"culture." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. .
"艾未未 TED2011, Ai Wei Wei at TED talks 2011." YouTube. YouTube, 9 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. .

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