Life as Art - Ai Weiwei

I enjoyed Ai Weiwei's exhibition at the Royal Academy with Catherine last night. I saw his previous Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Modern and heard about his detention in China on the news, but had not really investigated his work any further.  I was unexpectedly moved by his pieces, which all have a lot of thought and meaning associated with them. One shocking room at first sight had an unusual rolling landscape of steel rods on the floor (150 tons of straightened rebar), which I was looking at when I realised the walls of the huge space had panels on them with small writing.  On closer inspection, the writing was a list of names - over 5000 names of children and students who had died in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008. This is tragic enough, but it forms a political statement because the steel rods are from the remains of buildings - collapsed schools - that weren't properly built to withstand earthquakes.  He incurred the wrath of the Chinese authorities who had tried to cover up the scale of the disaster.  He was detained for 81 days in 2011 - his thoughts about this are also represented in the exhibition as "S.A.C.R.E.D.".  We are invited to spy on him through half life size dioramas in 6 boxes as he was watched closely (and I mean very closely, not more than a few inches away) by 2 policemen at all times, even in the toilet and while sleeping.

I was amazed to see the chandelier (in the distance the top photo) up close - it was actually made from bicycles - the mundane made beautiful and unexpected.

He also has much to say on the freedom to move across borders.  Viewed from above, the bolted- together pieces of ancient temples form the outline shape of China, with Taiwan represented by some joined footstools.  We can't see the shape but are able to walk through it easily, unlike many who live there. 

Traditional craftsmanship, shapes, scale, repetition, unexpected materials (rare wood, marble, crystal, compressed tea) and the value we put on things are other themes.

As the artist said himself, "Life is art.  Art is life.  I never separate it".

See the Guardian review of the exhibition here.

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/ai-weiwei-rules-for-life-and-art 

Stoic Week 2nd - 9th November 2015

Stoicism seems to overlap with a lot of the Coping With Cancer Stress course and also my normal life working in the NHS (Ha Ha). I thought I may as well learn a bit more about it and enrolled on the free on-line course offered by Exeter University, Stoic Week 2015. 
The Stoics aimed to improve their mental, emotional and physical resilience.  
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Roman Emperor (161-180 AD) are surprisingly applicable to modern life. He is considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers, along with Epictetus, Seneca, Socrates and Zeno.  He did not find the Imperial life of an Emperor appealing, but took the office as he saw it his duty, in line with his philosophy. He was careful and thoughtful in matters of the law.  He was not physically strong but persevered to share the hardships of his reign with common soldiers on the battlefield.

One of my favourite quotes from Aurelius is:

"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present".

He reminds us that we have everything we need within ourselves to face the future - after all, we have got ourselves to this point.

The thoughts of Epictetus, an ex-slave are written in the Enchiridion (Manual of Epictetus) as a short manual of Stoic philosophy. He lived in poverty with the Earth, sky and a cloak.

"Don't demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well".

"If anyone tells you that such a person speaks ill of you, don't make excuses about what is said of you, but answer: " He does not know my other faults, else he would not have mentioned only these."

The Stoics were quite keen on a bit of contemplation in the morning to help get your thoughts into perspective in order to face the day.  This from Marcus Aurelius:

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."

For other Marcus Aurelius quotes, have a look at this link.

I've quite enjoyed this week of thinking about philosophy, it certainly helps in those tedious work meetings to remember

“....it is in your power to retire into yourself whenever you choose.” 

From http://existentialcomics.com/comic/102