“I don’t like this word, creation. It has such religious implications.” The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei once declared, and he meant it. This talk investigates how Ai employs, borrows and “steals” the ideas, prototypes and expertise of others in the making of his artworks, which range from massive and laborious to instant and cheaply recyclable but always end up bearing Ai’s unmistakable brand. Taking Ai as an eminent (though untypical) example, this talk also explicates what constitutes authorship, authenticity, and hence value, in the field of Chinese art and contemporary art at large.
Bio:
Chang Tan joined Penn State University as an assistant professor in Art History and Asian Studies in 2014. Her research interests include modern and contemporary Chinese, East Asian and Southeast Asian art, museum culture and, more recently, ecological art in Asia. She publishes on journals such as Third Text, World Art and Yishu, and her book manuscript deals with different modes of appropriation in contemporary Chinese art.
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