hirshhorn museum 02.23.13 - 8
"Cube Light";by Ai Weiwei (2008; glass crystals, lights, and metal)
"Begun in 2002, Ai's celebrated chandelier series includes large-scale installations composed of thousands of glass crystals. "Cube Light," a seminal piece in this body of work, extends Ai's interest in re-examining Minimalist artistic strategies and, more specifically, in questioning the perceived solidity and exactitude of the iconic cube. The artist's use of glass crystals exemplifies his interest in the manipulation of materials that interrogate conventions of culture, history, politics and tradition. According to Ai, an important inspiration for the series was a scene in Sergei Eisenstein's 1928 film "October", in which the shaking crystal chandelier suggests the instability of a society undergoing profound change."
hirshhorn museum 02.23.13 - 8
"Cube Light";by Ai Weiwei (2008; glass crystals, lights, and metal)
"Begun in 2002, Ai's celebrated chandelier series includes large-scale installations composed of thousands of glass crystals. "Cube Light," a seminal piece in this body of work, extends Ai's interest in re-examining Minimalist artistic strategies and, more specifically, in questioning the perceived solidity and exactitude of the iconic cube. The artist's use of glass crystals exemplifies his interest in the manipulation of materials that interrogate conventions of culture, history, politics and tradition. According to Ai, an important inspiration for the series was a scene in Sergei Eisenstein's 1928 film "October", in which the shaking crystal chandelier suggests the instability of a society undergoing profound change."