Weiwei Influence On Society

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Weiwei exemplifies what it means for a visual artist to use their role in society and social power for the greater good in China. Weiwei is a well-known activist, cultural figure, and famous artist in China who creates astounding art that encourages social engagement against the Chinese government (Artsy.net, 2017). Since Weiwei is in a different geographic region, the way that he portrays his art to the people of China is significantly different compared to the message that is delivered to different parts of the world. Additionally, Weiwei’s artwork was extremely controversial and raised awareness to the issues in China. An example of Weiwei using his power as an artist today was in the 9000-backpack mural that said, "she lived happily in …show more content…

Since Neshat’s works are extremely confrontational and go against the government’s values, her art was in exile in Iran (Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2017). As a result, Neshat uses her social role in society to project to women across the globe about the hardships that are occurring to Iranian women. Shirin Neshat created the Women of Allah series after she returned back to Iran following the Islamic Revolution (Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2017). In her series is a piece titled Faceless, Women of Allah, a very powerful image that addresses the themes of repressed Muslim women in Iran (Figure 2). The woman is shown wearing a chador, a traditional face covering that is used to conceal her sexuality (Sheybani, 2017). Additionally, her face covered in Farsi, and the main focus of this piece is the gun pointed directly at the viewer. By pairing the contrasting ideals of femininity and violence in a single image, Neshat’s series evokes a strong and symbolic message (Sheybani, 2017). Neshat’s social role as an artist is to raise awareness for the Muslim women that are trapped under such extreme religious commitment. Overall, Neshat’s goal is to empower women and remind them of the political transformations that will soon be made to their abusive