Postmodernist: Ai Weiwei (b.1957)
Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo 1994
The postmodern preoccupation with branding is put to shocking effect in this early work by Ai Weiwei. Painting a 2000-year-old urn with the Coca-Cola logo (a western brand with a huge presence in China), he suggests the uncomfortable collision of ancient culture with global capital. Ironically, through already a precious artefact, the object became more valuable once he defaced it and turned it into contemporary art.
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