Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn
Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn is a photographic artwork created by Ai Weiwei in 1995.[1] Composed of three 148 by 121 cm black-and-white photographs, it documents Ai holding, dropping, and standing over the remains of a Han dynasty urn that was approximately 2,000 years old. Ai broke two urns worth a few thousand dollars[2] to complete this series of photographs, as the first group of photographs failed to capture the process.[3]
Process
[edit]The urn used in Ai Weiwei's work was one of a group of Han urns that Ai acquired in the 1990s. This was Ai's second work using these urns. The first was Han Jar Overpainted with Coca-Cola Logo,[4] created in 1994. During the process of Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, Ai chose another urn to re-photograph because the first shot failed to capture the descent of the urn.
Related works
[edit]In 2006, Ai selected 51 of the Han urns he had acquired to create Colored Vases, which was exhibited at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in conjunction with Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn. The work was recreated in Lego bricks in 2015.[5]
See also
[edit]Fragments of History, from 2012, is a work by Manuel Salvisberg that imitates or parodies Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn. Three black-and-white photographs show Swiss art collector Uli Sigg dropping a replica of one of the vases from Ai's Han Jar Overpainted with Coca-Cola Logo series. Sigg, who is a friend of Ai, described the photos as "something to shock Ai Weiwei".[6]
In 2014, one Miami artist imitated Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, destroying one of Ai's vases from the Colored Vases series at the Pérez Art Museum exhibition.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Ai Weiwei, Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995 | Guggenheim Museum Bilbao". Guggenheim Bilbao. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "ArtAsiaPacific: Devastating History". artasiapacific.com. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ "ai weiwei dropping a han dynasty ||| figure ||| sotheby's l16020lot8tpg3en". 2017-10-17. Archived from the original on 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
- ^ Weiwei, Ai. "Met Museum: Han Jar Overpainted with Coca-Cola Logo".
- ^ "Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn | Lisson Gallery". www.lissongallery.com. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ "Ai Weiwei and me: the collector's tale".
- ^ McKirdy, Euan. "Miami artist destroys $1 million Ai Weiwei vase in protest".