Ai Weiwei (艾未未) Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square

Who/what: Ai Weiwei (艾未未) was born in Beijing in 1957. He is a Chinese contemporary artist and political activist.This is an image part of a series titled “Study of Perspecitve” (The Art Story).

 Ai Weiwei is at Tiananmen square giving the finger not only the public square itself, but also to the historical events that occurred as well as the political reaction in the upcoming years after the fact. 

Where: Tiananmen Square (天安门广场) in central Bejing, China. Literally meaning "Gate of Heavenly Peace" (The Art Story).

When: The photograph was taken and released in the artistic series in 1995 (The Art Story).

Why: The image is part of a series which includes similar photos of Ai Weiwei at various monuments including the "Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Reichstag in Berlin and the White House in Washington D.C." (The Art Story). Ai incorporates the Renaissance idea that objects closer to the eye need to appear larger, the "object" in this case is his middle digit. The title of the piece suggests innocent examination of perspective with distance, but implies his protest over state power, according to The Art Story. In addition to this, the photo can be interpreted as a protest to the history of the site. Tiananmen Square was the site of the 1989 where peaceful protesters stood advocating for democratic ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and a change in the political system after the regime of  Mao Zedong (Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989). Since then, the Chinese government has censored evidence of the event and footage is inaccessible to the Chinese people. Ai's display at this scene may also be an implied rebellion against the Chinese government as well as a protest to the historical reaction to past protesters. 

Works Cited: 

       "Ai Weiwei Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works." The Art Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.

       "Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2016.