Category: Unit 10

Born in Beijing, Ai Weiwei grew up in difficult circumstances; his father Ai Qing – a poet, was persecuted and exiled to a western province by the Chinese Communist government. This happened during the Anti-Rightist movement, which was campaign during 1957 that was a reaction against the Hundred Flowers Campaign which had promoted pluralism of expression and criticism of the government. Qing was persecuted after defending Ding Ling and was then accused of “rightism“.

Din Ling was a woman placed under house arrest in Shanghai however, she escaped and made her way to Yan’an. There she became one of the most influential figures in Yan’an cultural circles.

After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, Ai Qing was hailed as a great national poet.

“It’s powerful only because someone thinks it’s powerful and invests value in the object”

– Ali Weiwei

One of Ai Weiwei’s most notorious pieces “Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn” incorporates what Ai has called a “cultural readymade” as a big inspiration to him was Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” which caused Ai to develop great appreciation towards his work.

In his piece, Ai drops a 2,000 year old ceremonial urn. Despite it’s considerable value, it also symbolic and cultural worth. The Han dynasty (206 BC – 202 CE) was considered a defining period in Chinese civilisation, so for Ai to deliberately allow this priceless artifact to shatter at his feet was the equivalent to him throwing away the inheritance of cultural meaning about China.

This piece sparked outrage with some people as it was seen as a careless act, to simply destroy something with such high value. Some people calling him out for doing so, however Ai simply countered with “Chairman Mao used to tell us that we can only build a new world f we destroy the old one” which refers to the widespread destruction of antiques during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and the instruction that in order to build a new society one must destroy the si jiu (Four Olds) : old customs, habits, culture and ideas. Therefore, when Ai let’s go of the urn, he let’s go of the cultural and social structures that impart value.

During the beginning of 2016, Ai created a new piece that caught a lot of attention. Throughout the previous year, he visited Lesbos which was renowned for a gateway for refugees into Europe. There, he got his hands on a total of 14,000 discarded life jackets after the authorities provided them.

Once he had the life jackets, he went to Berlin and strung up all the vibrant orange jackets on the pillars of the Konzerthaus venue overnight. In 2015, over 1 million migrants arrived in Europe by the sea routes, then in January 2016 more than 400 had perished in their desperate attempt to get across.

Ai’s piece in New York – “Arch” is one of a series of pieces scattered around, the series being based around refugees and immigrants.

Peter Essick is a photographer who specialises in environmental photojournalism – his main focuses being nature/environmental themes. He is also an author, drone pilot and a speaker, he was named one of the most 40 most influential nature photographers in the world by Outdoor Photography Magazine UK.

Essick has been influenced by many noted American landscape photographers such as Carleton Watkins to Robert Adams.

Essick is also an author of two books, that contain his pieces “The Ansel Adams Wilderness” and “Our Beautiful, Fragile World ” he has had a solo exhibition showcasing his work at the Booth Western Art Museum, Yoho National Park: A Canadian Gem, Lumière Gallery and at Compositions in Nature.

He has photographed stories for National Geographic on several occasions revolving around different environmental issues such as climate change, high-tech trash, nuclear waste and freshwater. Other pieces of his work have been published in international magazines.

Marty Knapp first began his journey as a self-employed photographer in 1988 when he quit his day job to pursue his passion for photography. At first he developed film as well as custom prints for clients in his darkroom and doing smaller photoshoots such as weddings, portraits and made slides for artists. He used his free time to experiment and explore his creativity.

In 1990 his work began to take off, meaning by 2000 he opened “Marty Knapp Photo Gallery” with his wife. There they showcased his pieces and also offered classes to photographers who wish to be coached in the art of black and white photography.

Knapp only started using digitally captured images during 2010 where he developed some prints from scanned negatives. The following year he created his first silver gelatine prints.

Currently he stated he uses a camera which was converted to record infrared light in order for him to capture a series of “dream-like” images from light that is beyond the range of the human eye.

He has also published a series of books:
– West Marin Moons
– Starry Night at Point Reyes
– Point Reyes, 20 years

It took me a while to come across his website, but once I found it I was hooked. The use of the infrared camera truly helps him create works of art also, as the images are in black and white it only seems to add to the beauty of it.

Personally, I believe that Marty Knapp has an incredible eye when it comes to photography and what helps him is his way with finding the correct lighting. For example, Inverness Ridge [above] he truly captures the essence of the landscape.

Kari Greer is a photographer who specialises in wildland fire and editorial photojournalism. Greer works alongside the National Interagency Fire Centre to help bring awareness of the damage that forest fires cause.

She first began to explore this interest during her college years where she worked on a Forest Service fire crew in Washington.

Some of Greer’s work has made an appearance in numerous articles and other publications such as:
– Outside Magazine
– National Geographic Adventure
– Wildland Firefighter
– The New York Times

The Prichard Art Gallery is the first thorough exhibition that presents Kari Greer’s pieces.

In 2015 alone there was a total of 10.1 million acres burned in the US – the length and size of forest fires are prolonging the project. The goal is to bring more awareness to the issues at hand as well as helping people understand it, Greer’s photographs need no words to describe the images as they tell their own stories.

I knew I wanted to do a research page on forest fires, as I personally feel as though it is a topic we are all very aware and yet so oblivious to at the same time. Admittedly, there are moments where things such as forest fires are out of our control but I believe that a lot of people have the mindset of “out of sight, out of mind” that is, until it is in an area close to them and their home.

There are several natural causes that can lead to forest fires such as:
– Dry climate
– Lighting
– Volcanic eruptions

However there are people who do something as small as not putting a cigarette out properly – simple, yet easy to forget, which can set some grass or bushes on fire which is all it takes due to how rapidly a forest fire will spread. It had been stated that the most common direct human causes of a forest fire are:
– Unlit cigarettes
– Arson
– Sparks from equipment