The Transmedia and Transcultural Hyperrealism of Ai Weiwei’s Digital Communication
Type
conference paper
Date Issued
2017-02-17
Author(s)
Abstract
This study investigates Ai Weiwei’s recent artworks and ‘communication activism’ (see Strafella & Berg 2015), looking at Ai both as content producer and as journalistic subject matter. The production of this Chinese artist, writer and activist with a uniquely ‘global’ reach constitutes a portrayal of the social and political realities around the world, including China, New York and the Middle East. Here we look in particular at the transmedia representation of his encounter with refugees and local population around the Mediterranean Sea — from Greece to Turkey and Palestine — and argue that it displays the characteristics of the realist method as defined by Raymond Williams in his 1977 Lecture on Realism (Williams 1977).
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
HSG Profile Area
SHSS - Kulturen, Institutionen, Maerkte (KIM)
Event Title
Workshop: "Landscapes of Realism"
Event Location
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK
Event Date
17 and 18 February 2017
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
251728
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Name
Hyperrealism AWW TP SOAS 170217.pdf
Size
2.88 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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