this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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"The man destroyed the large blue and white Porcelain Cube at a busy private opening for the exhibition “Who am I?” at Palazzo Fava in Bologna on the evening of September 21. Local police arrested a 57-year-old Czech man who has been identified in Italian media as Vaclav Pisvejc, a provocateur and self-proclaimed artist known for targeting important works of art."

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[–] jordanlund 80 points 3 months ago (2 children)

What it looked like before it was destroyed:

[–] devilish666 32 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Am i just poor peasant who can't understand art OR that sculpture looks like bunch of fancy PVC pipe glued together ?

[–] jordanlund 42 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's made out of extremely delicate porcelain.

[–] meco03211 31 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Could've made it cheaper using PVC.

[–] takeda 15 points 3 months ago

LOL, ... and it also wouldn't break as easily!

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

I saw that piece with my wife and just told her someone broke it and her reaction was "wait, that was actual ceramic? I always tough it was PVC"

[–] Madison420 26 points 3 months ago

It's modern art most of it aimed at a moral.

As a guess I'm going to assume the point is that it's a fragile extremely delicate vase with literally no purpose as a vase.

You can't put anything in it or on it, it's vapid and empty like.... Art.

I'm gunna guess this is collaborative in some way between the two.

[–] mhague 11 points 3 months ago

It's using old techniques from Chinese history and applying them in a new way. Ai had to experiment and go through a lot of failure to produce such a different object. I don't think the cube wireframe was important, just the old method being used to make a modern art piece.

I like the idea of reinvigorating ancient crafting techniques by making modern art. I'm not exactly an art guy so I don't know if it's a unique idea but it made me think so I like it.

[–] Iheartcheese 5 points 3 months ago

It's a cube but for grandma's.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago
[–] [email protected] 18 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Damn, I saw that piece in Rio de Janeiro years ago. The banner on my profile if from that same exposition. There were also other things made of ceramic like a teddy bear and a security camera. Iirc, one of the pieces was a pendrive with a backup of wikileaks.

[–] [email protected] 48 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Ai himself is known for smashing works as well. The exhibition’s curator Arturo Galansino noted that several works in the show document the destruction of a precious ceramic. The most famous of these is *Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn *(1995), a triptych of black-and-white photographs in which the artist holds and then drops a 2,000-year-old vessel. It is a commentary on China’s deliberate erasure of its cultural heritage.

[–] errer 14 points 3 months ago

Shoulda made that dynasty urn outta PVC

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Commentary or not, when does his 2,000 year sentence begin?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Well, seeing as he was hosting a party at a museum, I’m guessing not soon.

[–] [email protected] 27 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"Ai himself is known for smashing works as well. The exhibition’s curator Arturo Galansino noted that several works in the show document the destruction of a precious ceramic. The most famous of these is Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995), a triptych of black-and-white photographs in which the artist holds and then drops a 2,000-year-old vessel. It is a commentary on China’s deliberate erasure of its cultural heritage."

Okay so this artist also destroys artifacts that are thousands of years old.

“The destruction that Ai Weiwei depicts in his works is a warning against the violence and injustice perpetrated by those in power,” he said. “[It] has nothing to do with this reckless and senseless act carried out by a habitual troublemaker seeking attention by damaging artists, works, monuments, and institutions.”

Imho there are other ways to prove that point.

However it is despicable that his artwork was destroyed by a trouble maker and the perpetrator should be dealt with accordingly.

[–] meliante 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"No, you don't understand, it's ok when I am the one doing it!"

[–] takeda 3 points 3 months ago

Given that he destroyed the vase to gain popularity, wouldn't be possible that this is another stunt to make people talk about him?

Notice that his name is even in the headline.

[–] BorisBoreUs 22 points 3 months ago

Never saw that art before. Don't know what it represents. Don't know anything about the artist. Trashing art is a terrible thing, full stop.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Fuck Ai Weiwei the historical artefact destroying cunt. Destroyed thousands of years of history for his own fame.

[–] FlyingSquid 23 points 3 months ago

For those who, like me, had no idea what this referred to-

https://smarthistory.org/ai-weiwei-dropping-a-han-dynasty-urn-2/

Yeah, that's just asshole behavior.

[–] NABDad 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, kind of seems appropriate.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

There is a difference between me breaking something I own and you breaking something I own. Also, everything old isn't particularly valuable, or important. Apparently the vase he broke was quite cheap. If this was one of the last examples of its kind, or if it was particularly well made, but this appears to be neither of these. Still kind of an asshole move, but I wouldn't say anything of value was lost.

[–] MirthfulAlembic 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

I've seen the urn characterized both as rare/expensive and not uncommon/inexpensive. It seems to change depending on the point different articles are trying to make. Perhaps it's relative.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Depending on the source, I've seen a dime a dozen, a couple thousand dollars (not exactly cheap in my books) or a million (which seemed to be about another work of Weiwei's). I also saw a history site talking about Han pottery being a "minor work" with burial pieces mimicking bronze works from the time. I can't say just what this was worth before he broke it, and the art world probably inflates its value now that it's destroyed.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago

The man destroyed the large blue and white Porcelain Cube at a busy private opening for the exhibition “Who am I?” at Palazzo Fava in Bologna on the evening of September 21. Local police arrested a 57-year-old Czech man who has been identified in Italian media as Vaclav Pisvejc, a provocateur and self-proclaimed artist known for targeting important works of art.

Ai himself is known for smashing works as well. The exhibition’s curator Arturo Galansino noted that several works in the show document the destruction of a precious ceramic. The most famous of these is Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995), a triptych of black-and-white photographs in which the artist holds and then drops a 2,000-year-old vessel. It is a commentary on China’s deliberate erasure of its cultural heritage.

Ai himself is known for smashing works as well.

Hmmm...

Well Ai Weiwei, it seems you got your answer.

While I doubt the vandal was actually trying to make a comment on the artist's reputation, it does seem very appropriate that one of his sculptures would get smashed at an exhibition called, "Who am I?"

[–] mortimer 11 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I like it better broken. It's more abstract.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I am inclined to agree, but I wonder if it would be even better pieced back together.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 months ago

I'd like it if it was fixed by means of Kintsugi

[–] errer 4 points 3 months ago

I agree. Maybe these two art smashers should just agree to collaborate.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago

Good riddance, I hate Ai-generated art.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thanks to much practice from my clumsy wife and daughter and their love for highly breakable stuff… I’ve got a few tubes of epoxy, “Challenge Accepted!”

[–] jordanlund 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Ever see a British show called "The Repair Shop"? I bet they could do it...

https://youtu.be/QelcOzZsnac#t=10m43s

[–] mortimer 6 points 3 months ago

Gaffer tape will sort it. Trust me, I've fixed all kinds of shit with gaffer tape.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

It's all worhless bullshit used exclusively for money laundering and feeding lies to aspiring artists. Burn the entire place down for all I care.

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