One particular intersection that is interesting to me is that of politics and art. As a follow up to my blog about when art became political, I will be exploring some of the ramifications of art becoming political. I will be analyzing art especially the increasing popular genre of protest art in differing political systems. In countries where protests are allowed, so is protest art. However, how do we fit this increasing popular type of art into a political system that restricts protests and political opinions?
Specifically, I will be looking at communism. Currently, there are only five nations in the world under a communist regime. Communism being defined as, “political and economic doctrine that aims to replace private property and a profit-based economy with public ownership and communal control of at least the major means of production (e.g., mines, mills, and factories) and the natural resources of a society.”They are China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. And Interestingly enough, one of the most famous protest artists comes from China.
Ai Wei Wei is a 62 year old artist from Being, China currently residing in the United Kingdom. He’s made a career out of being an avant-garde artist. He was born to a poet who supported the allowance of citizens to freely and openly. His father was persecuted resulting in a 16 year exile for the family until Ai was 15 years old. He went on to study animation in China and then in the United States. These events really set the stage for Ai’s political views. He grew up in a communist country with a father who was critical of the government. He then lived in the United States giving him a different perspective. In the 90’s Ai returned to China where he continued to work on his art as well as a series of books. Ai started more directly criticizing the government in 2005 with his blog which was later shut down. This is one of the first instances we see of the government not allowing Ai to spread his opinions. Ai continued on with criticism through investigating building structures of schools in Sichuan following an earthquake as well as the names of the students who perished as a result. In 2010, the government demolished his studio citing improper planning even though it was planned with city officials for a new arts area of Beijing . Ai claimed the reasoning behind this was because Ai had produced a documentary that the government considered to be critical while shining a light on notable human rights activists.
In 2011, he was arrested for tax evasion. Arresting a prominent and world known artist sent a message to other activists. The mix of these events caused Ai and his family to leave the country in 2015 following his release from prison.
Ai found a way to make artwork in a communist country that was highly critical of the government. He often expressed and expresses his political opinions online and through his artwork. He, somewhat, made as much work as he could in a communist country. However, he was constantly silenced or shown the power of the government. One could argue solely based off the example of Ai Wei Wei that of course art is allowed in communist countries especially if Ai who is most notable for his protest art was allowed considering protest art could be considered the most detrimental to a communist government. However, Ai Wei Wei rose to prominence through underground methods and truly began his activism in the mid 2000’s. Through deeper analysis this timeline may be what allowed Ai to break through. By becoming prominent, he was able to share his message with an existing audience. He didn’t have to fear being silenced because he knew people would listen. He was even somewhat favorable in China at one point considering he helped designed the 2008 Olympic’s “Bird’s Nest” stadium. It is my belief that if had he started his activism earlier that he would not have become such a prominent figure in contemporary Chinese art.
Now that is a very specific example of a very broad question. Is art in a communist government possible? TO BE CONTINUED…
on Ai Wei Wei
artally.art.blog 
Art is possible but is protest art possible is political art possible?
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