While at the Crocker art Museum I was
also fortunate to look at their Permanent collection of works Ai WeiWei’s
Circle of Animals/ Zodiac Heads was on display out side on the patio, it
consisted of 12 oversized Chinese Zodiac heads all made of Bronze that were 134
X 66X 77 in. It was meant to reinterpret the fame 18th century
fountain clock of the Yuanming Yaun (Old Summer’s Palace) outside of Beijing.
The story is that in 1860 it was ransacked by France and British troops and the
heads of people there were chopped off, this was what he was trying to achieve
with just the Zodiac Heads. Also the fact of repatriation and showing the exploitation
of what constitutes Chinese art and Identity. It came alongside with some
historical information about the emperor’s fountain.
I thought it was very interesting to
see all the sculptures including mine which is The Rooster. The only Thing that
bothered mean was the fact that some of the animals didn’t look right, Like the
monkey looked more like a dog and some were hard to distinguish like if the
boar was really a boar. I think that the details of the dragon were very intricate
and well done, and of the rooster.
Over all I think the work was
interesting in behind the meaning and the way the heads looked like they were
on stakes showed a strong political meaning to what had happened to the people
in 1860 and to the Chinese people.
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