Reading: Zhang Xiaogang Explained in 5 Paintings

Reading Response
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Reading 1: Zhang Xiaogang Explained in 5 Paintings
Born in 1958, Zhang Xiaogang is one of the best, most influential and famous Chinese painters. He has made his name with stylish portraits of Chinese people and different forms of art. Most of his paintings contain human figures, convey varying emotions, and have left a good impression on hundreds to thousands of people across the globe. In this reading, authors Jonathan Fineberg and Gary G Xu have shared different paintings of Zhang Xiaogang, explaining how he revolutionized the field of art. According to them, Zhang Xiaogang came up with a series of family portraits from 1950 to 1960. He has created several sculptures and paved the ways for other artists and painters toward success. Almost all of his sculptures are present in exhibits, making the world trust his abilities and skills. Today, Zhang Xiaogang has become one of the most sought-after, contemporary artists. From this text, I have learned that Zhang took no time to gain reputation. For instance, his painting titled The Coming Storm (1981) by Zhang Xiaogang contains both light and dark shades, has several human figures and an animal, and delivers a very good message: humans should not impose restrictions on animals considering them a useless and meaningless part of the world. Before coming up with an artwork, Zhang Xiaogang uses to observe things around him in order to have an idea of how human beings are connected to nature and other living organisms and how they are ruining the entire society. A few years ago, he was found to be painting the community of Aba Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan, and then Zhang Xiaogang presented a series of drawings from his trips.
Reading 2: Noble and Ignoble
In this text, the author sheds light on the life of Ai Weiwei, calling him a much admired Chinese dissident artist of the era. He has been the subject of an exhibition known as Ai Weiwei: According to What? This is present in the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington. The author got a chance to visit the museum and saw the painting, knowing how difficult the life of this China-based artist has been. Ai Weiwei rose to prominence in 2008 when he, in collaboration with Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, worked as an artistic consultant for the Summer Olympics. Throughout his life, Ai Weiwei has worked for human rights, invested his time in eliminating corruption from the society, and helped the government take actions against those who create a mess for the public in one way or the other. Thus, we can say that Ai Weiwei is not only an artist but also a political activist who has played his significant role in strengthening the political system of the country. Most of his artworks have been inspired by the works of artists like Donald Judd and Robert Morris, who came up with a lot of artworks in the 1960s and won the hearts of a large...