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Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei, La Commedia Umana: Memento Mori by Ai Weiwei, Monument to human loss, The Human Comedy: Remember You Must Die by Ai Weiwei
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Luca Bruno
We see the environment completely disappearing, being destroyed by humans’ effort … and that will create a much bigger disaster or famine. Or war, there’s a possible political struggle between China and the West as China asserts greater control over Hong Kong and threatens control over Taiwan…. We have to rethink about humans and legitimacy in the environment. Do we really deserve this planet, or are we just being so short-sighted and racist? And very, very just self-demanding, selfishness.
~ Chinese artist Ai Weiwei on his latest sculpture La Commedia Umana: Memento Mori / The Human Comedy: Remember You Must Die, Venice, Italy, August 26, 2022.
Photo Credit: Lisson Gallery – Venice – Italy
One of the largest works ever created in Murano glass, the hanging sculpture is composed of over 2,000 pieces of blown and cast glass, weighing around four tons with a width of 6.4 meters (21 feet) and towering overhead at 8.4 meters (27.6 feet) high. The series of hand-crafted black glass bones and isolated organs first became a striking monument to the lives lost over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, with the war between Russia and Ukraine, the monument also encompasses those who die from all kinds of human conflict. If we want to leave behind more than the bones of our broken bodies, we must work together to address the dangers that threaten our survival as a species.
Learn more at Berengo Studio.
AI WEIWEI, born in 1957 in Beijing, China, is a global citizen, artist, and thinker. He attended Beijing Film Academy and later, on moving to New York (1983-1993), continued his studies at the Parsons School of Design. His art works have been exhibited worldwide. Among his numerous awards and honors, he holds the lifetime achievement award from the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards (2008) and was made Honorary Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts, London (2011). He now lives and works in Portugal.
Three Worlds One Vision 
Such a wake-up call.
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Derrick, it sure is.
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What an incredible artist and story. Thank you for sharing Rosaliene
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My pleasure, Kate 🙂 According to the news report, it’s the result of a three-year collaboration between Ai Weiwei and the Italian Berengo Glass Studio.
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Wow! That is a powerful and sobering work of art. Thanks for spotlighting it in this excellent post, Rosaliene!
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Dave, I’m glad that you appreciate Ai’s masterpiece as much as I do. I was especially taken with the partial skeleton at the top of the pyre that appears, in vain, to free itself from the rest of the dead.
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Stunning piece of art (if one can judge it off a photo). The artist’s quote is a tat trite. Better do something, such as create works of art, or help girls and women getting into electrical energy engineering and help building renewable energy projects, or get men (and women) to refuse to go to war, any war.
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Dingenom, thanks for adding your voice. I would recommend that you visit his website at https://www.aiweiwei.com/ to learn more about his work as an international human rights activist. In his home country, the Chinese authorities did not take well to his political activism and, in 2011, he was held for months in secret detention without charge.
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Wow – that is an eye-opening piece of art!
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Glad you like it, too, Wynne 🙂
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What a strong statement his piece makes. Thanks for introducing me to Weiwei’s work!
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You’re welcome, Rebecca.
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Years ago upon meeting an old friend I suggested to him that my destiny was talking truth to power to the extent they’d have to kill me.. His response was what most people recognize as classic: “You don’t have to do that right away, do you?” Haha 🙂
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I admire such courage, Jerry. Ai Weiwei can tell you about his own experience with the Chinese authorities.
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I find the juxtaposition of the fragility of the glass and the weight and size exemplifies the meaning of our life on Earth. The power of art.
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An excellent observation, Evelyn. Wealth and power can give us a false sense of personal accountability, invincibility and indestructibility.
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Such a wonderful monument ❣️❣️❣️
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It is, for sure, Luisa. Do you live in Italy? If so, you may have an opportunity to visit the exhibition in Venice.
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Thank you, Rosaliene, I thought so too,
The next time I go to Venice, I will definitely go and admire it🙏
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Gaining and maintaining power by any means often means that anything standing in the way (including the environment) is expendable. Human nature has always been more shortsighted than Mother Nature.
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So true, Mister Muse. We humans are already paying dearly for our shortsightedness.
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He’s a great person. Anyone who sees his artworks is fortunate.
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I agree, Neil. Who knows? Some day, the exhibit may also come to New York City or, better yet, Los Angeles 🙂
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Thanks for sharing!!! Excited to learn more about his latest piece.
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You’re welcome, Eliana. It’s the first time I’m learning about his artwork.
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Beautiful sculpture with a very important message to all. From my own observation too, many think, live and treat the planet like they will not die or death will happen at a very old age or when they are ready. As for our Planet, the truth has been said again and again that it is dying, people even experience it’s signs of sickness like calamities and global warming but selfishness and greed are more powerful than preservation and caring.
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Island Traveler, I agree with all the points you’ve raised. It boggles my mind how we humans continue to ignore the catastrophe unfolding around us.
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The sculpture amazing—the idea even more so. The sense of entitlement in the world is astounding.
“The entitlement mentality is defined as a sense of deservingness or being owed a favor when little or nothing has been done to deserve special treatment. It’s the “you owe me” attitude. Entitlement is a narcissistic personality trait”. Overall the world is sick to its core.
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Jim, thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts. It’s interesting that you should mention our entitlement mentality. at the root of humanity’s dilemma. In my next post, I will be sharing my reflections on entitlement as presented in Jim Bendell’s E-s-c-a-p-e Ideology.
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Looking forwards to it. Thank you.
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A very striking sculpture which must be quite a challenge to assemble!
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John, I also had the same thought. I found no mention of the time it takes to assemble the delicate pieces.
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As many know, the words Memento mori are Latin, kind of appropriate since the latter is now a dead language. The art is powerful. Vanitas is a genre of art that reminds us of those things that will pass away. More necessary today than ever. Thank you, Rosaliene.
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Dr. Stein, thanks for the info about Vanitas as a genre of art, very common in medieval funerary paintings and sculpture. I imagine that when we succeeded in prolonging our lifespan with our modern medical practices, our former obsession with death and decay as an art form lost its appeal.
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A courageous artist reminds me it takes courage to face the truth. “…we must work together to address the dangers that threaten our survival as a species.” I hope we do that as a species. Those who understand and care must try.
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JoAnna, it does, indeed, take courage to face the truth, especially when it’s bleak. It is my hope, too, that we can come together as a species to save ourselves.
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Excellent artist! Wonderful art work !beautiful story. Loved to read it. Thank you, 🥰
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Priti, I’m glad you also love WeiWei’s sculpture 🙂
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It’s my pleasure ☺️
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What a stunning and disturbing sculpture. It’s haunting and seems like the perfect mirror of his worries for the world. Thanks so much for the fascinating post, Rosaliene.
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My pleasure, Diana! The sculpture is, indeed, haunting and disturbing. Wishing you success with the online book tour for your latest novel 🙂
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What a spectacular piece of art!!!!
Yes we are single handily destroying the earth and disrespecting the future human beings that will have a chance to grace it.
Thank you for sharing.
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Glad you also like the piece, Belladonna. Indeed, we know not what we do.
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