The fourth Vectis Decorative & Fine Arts Society lecture of the season will be on 21st January at Quay Arts.

Frank Woodgate presents "Everything is art, Everything is Politics"

This lecture will examine the provocative and often beautiful work of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in the context of dissident art in China, Europe and South America, and examine some of his sources of inspiration, including the Russian Constructivist, Vladimir Tatlin and the leading Dada artist, Marcel Duchamp.

Ai Weiwei collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron in designing the Beijing National Stadium (the Bird’s Nest) for the 2008 Olympics, but the following year was arrested and beaten by police, necessitating emergency brain surgery.

While his Sunflower Seeds installation was still on display in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in 2011, he was arrested again and detained in prison for 81 days, during which he was subjected to mental torture. Part of the problem of course was the provocative nature of his work. Between 1995 and 2003, he produced an extensive series of photographs, each of which was called Study in Perspective, in which he made an offensive gesture in front of famous locations. Those relating to the White House and the Eiffel Tower caused no problem in China of course, but that in Tiananmen Square (on the fifth anniversary of the notorious demonstration, when hundreds of people were killed) was clearly highly contentious

Guide and lecturer at Tate Britain and Tate Modern, lecturer at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, for the National Trust, the Art Fund and other organisations. Lecturer for Tate on P&O Cruises.

Lecturer to NADFAS (the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies) throughout Britain, and to related organisations in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Script-writer for the Living Paintings Trust, which brings art to the blind and partially-sighted.

The lectures begin at 8pm but the cafe is open from 6.30 if anyone wants to take advantage of a light meal or drinks before the lecture.

The cost to visitors is £7.

Image: jurvetson under CC BY 2.0