I thought it was so interesting how Freud discussed the conscious and the unconscious, and decided I wanted to explore this idea. When you are younger, you are living more in the unconscious because you are learning the ways of the world and the difference between right and wrong. As you grow older, you begin to live in the conscious by inheriting routine; wake up for school, go to practice after, go home and do homework – I feel like there is less and less time for the unconscious because you become so busy with everyday tasks. That is my take on the conscious and unconscious. I also wish to create a dialogue with this piece that speaks about the unconscious and conscious mind in relation to people who are seen as mentally unstable vs. completely able because this is somewhat like the adult/child comparison as well. The minds of those seen as crazy usually have a lot in common with the child’s mind, and function in extremely similar ways. I think it would be interesting to do more research about this topic and implement that knowledge into my second studio assignment.
PHOTO ESSAY – 2D STUDIO
— 2D Studio —
All that Ai Weiwei’s website’s biography page says about him is that he is an artist born in 1957 who now resides in Beijing. This is quite an understatement for such a potent artist.
I saw this piece that he did and thought it was so cool; it’s a triptych of him dropping a Han Dynasty Urn. The middle panel is haunting to me – it’s as if someone is holding the urn directly above the ground, a ghost or invisible being. Or maybe that’s what my mind is hoping; imagining as a mechanism to combat the fact that he truly did destroy a Han Dynasty Urn in the creation of this piece. This kid in one of my classes was explaining that Han Dynasty Urns are historically salient in the fact that the Han Dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history.
He also has a running project within these sunflower seeds. They are all created by hand and out of porcelain; the seed is representative of the people of China, since there are many but they always face towards the sun, as if looking towards a brighter future, a brighter day.
I especially enjoy the comedic nature of his Coca Cola Urns.
I feel like it creates an important dialogue about the influence of Western Culture on, quite frankly, everything, and the consumerism that follows (or goes hand-in-hand) with that influence.
In terms of Ai Weiwei’s NYC installations, I think that the pushback from the Washington Square Park piece is selfish and whitewashed. Some man on the board committee for the park claims that the sculpture “politicized” the arch, though the arch was erected in political likeness in the first place. It’s representative of George Washington’s inauguration; one of this country’s founding fathers, therefore one of the men who is responsible for the way it (the country) is now. I know that’s a cynical outlook on the entire thing, but I tried to put what I was saying in the simplest terms.
I think Ai Weiwei is an amazing artist and activist and I can’t wait to see what ways he furthers his ideas and how they are conceptualized.