Beyond the Middle Finger: Plato, Schiller and the Political Aesthetics of Ai Weiwei. Issue 3 (14th October 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Miller, Jason
• Is Part Of: Critical horizons. Volume 17:Issue 3/4(2016)
• Page Start: 304
• Page End: 323
• Publication Date: 2016-10-14
• Subjects: political aesthetics -- Ai Weiwei -- Plato -- Schiller -- Rancière; Critical theory -- Periodicals; 142.05
• DOI: 10.1080/14409917.2016.1190174
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1440-9917

Abstract

Abstract : The photograph of Ai Weiwei's middle finger set against the backdrop of Tiananmen Square has become an icon of politically subversive art. But can we see beyond the middle finger? Here I argue that current theories of political aesthetics (e.g. Jacques Rancière) operate on an oversimplified dichotomy between two competing paradigms of political art, and that this threatens a more nuanced engagement with contemporary artistic practices. In the first part, I re-examine both the antagonistic relation between art and politics exemplified in Plato's verdict against poetry as a socially corrosive form of imitation as well as the instrumental relation of art and politics developed in Friedrich Schiller's conception of aesthetic education as a means of social and political reform. Then, drawing on recent work by the controversial Chinese artist, I argue for a model of political art that can account for the more complex interrelation of criticism and cultural affirmation evident in a growing body of politically-oriented art.