LACMA visit to the Zodiac Heads

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  • January 16, 2012 at 11:34 am #20873
    Anonymous
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    I also visited the Ai Wei Wei exhibit and found the art striking. I can't remember if I posted this elsewhere, but what struck me the most about it was the bizarre installation. Why put it around the gaping hole down to the parking garage, with the elevators going up and down in the middle? Perhaps part of the choice was that it forced you go to around to see each head in turn rather than being able to cut across, but it was very odd.

    January 17, 2012 at 12:13 pm #20874
    Anonymous
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    Your ideas of tying Wei Wei’s censorship experience to the American experience of censorship is a great idea. There is a lot there. I can already hear our students saying, “But we have freedom of speech!” Already to mind comes using television footage of Elvis close-up shoots on the Ed Sullivan singing to a hound dog in a tuxedo because Elvis dancing was perceived as lewd by 1950’s American standards. As awesome as I thought Wei Wei’s exhibit was, I was also really taken aback by the exhibit on Chinese calligraphy, in particular the calligraphy depicting the eight Chinese characters symbolizing the eight Confucianism values. The characters themselves were not only beautifully depicted but also adorned with tremendous care with additional drawings representing each value or virtue. This takes me back to our class discussion on Chinese philosophy. Since our 10th grade World History allow for some discussion on religion I want to incorporate these Chinese characters as a way of introducing the lesson. I am thinking of breaking down my class into eight groups – each group being assigned a particular character of value and having students read about each value. Then, just like the LACMA exhibit have each student create pictures around the value before presenting their assigned value to the rest of the class.

    January 20, 2012 at 3:47 pm #20875
    Anonymous
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    I visited LACMA's Korean exhibit and noticed that it was still under construction. It's a very small part of the museum, but it's there. It was funny because I saw a lot of things I grew up with in there. I wonder how much I can sell the museum one of my grandmother's antique, korean, handmade chests. =)

    January 20, 2012 at 3:47 pm #3554
    Rob_Hugo@PortNW
    Keymaster

    I recently went to LACMA to view Ai Wei Wei’s: Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads. I did not know much about Ai Wei Wei until I did some research on him before going to LACMA. As one of the most recognized or the most recognized contemporary artist of China I do not find it surprising that Ai Wei Wei is prohibited from leaving Beijing for being critical of the government.
    As I approached the Zodiac heads I saw people taking pictures with some of the giant animal heads. On one of the pillars they provide the information on the Zodiac calendar and that’s when I realized why people were taking pictures with specific heads. My Chinese-American friend was excited to see the dragonhead. She says having children this year is extremely good luck. The dragon is a sign of good luck and looking at the dragonhead I told her Chinese dragons looked majestic in contrast to the European dragon, which always look threatening. As we made our way around the heads I noticed the distinctive Chinese way Wei Wei sculpted the animals. The details on the faces were life-like. It is fascinating to see Wei Wei’s rendition of art that was, if I am not mistaken, made by Jesuits for the Old Summer Palace in Beijing.
    I can easily use Ai Wei Wei’s exhibit in my classroom. In my U.S. history class we focus an entire unit on censorship throughout American history looking at the 1920s, 1950s, and post-9/11 centered on an essential question of, What are you willing to sacrifice to feel safe? To begin the lesson on Ai Wei Wei we can look at the Chinese zodiac and what each zodiac sign says about every student. Students are always interested in reading their horoscope and this would be the perfect segue into Ai Wei Wei’s exhibit. The discussion can then lead to the power of art and how it can be revolutionary. We can watch the clip found on the LACMA page and view some of Wei Wei’s work especially the bird’s nest for the Olympics. In addition, by looking at the 1950s censorship of Hollywood and its creative artists we can make comparisons looking at Ai Wei Wei’s current status. Students would also hopefully make the larger connection of how history is cyclical similar to how the Chinese zodiac functions in12 year cycles.

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