British Baroque: Power and Illusion

“This exhibition covers the reigns of the last Stuart monarchs, from the restoration of Charles II in 1660 to the death of Queen Anne in 1714. In Europe, it was an age when art was used to support and advertise the authority of the monarchy.
Across the period, major events took place – the restoration of the monarchy in 1660; the Revolution of 1688; the consequent central positioning of Parliament; the rise of party politics; the Union of England and Scotland; and wars that shaped Britain’s role in Europe. It is in this period of change – and the journey from the glamorous, court-centred world of Charles II to the political climate of the reign of Anne – that the association between art and power is explored.

The later Stuart period was an age of hierarchy. Displays of magnificence to express status and influence were used by royal courts, aristocrats and the rising political elite. Works of art on a grand scale; the use of illusion and perspective to awe-inspiring effect; and the visual impact of the great buildings of the age such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Chatsworth and Blenheim Palace, were persuasive statements of power.”

conversation with the viewers of Tate Britain

The exhibition itself shows the relationship between art and politics. It's just in the historical environment. I think visiting this exhibition will definitely reflect on the present through history and gain some new experience and cognition.

Because I have seen the introduction of this exhibition before, I think people who visit this exhibition may be people who are very interested in art and politics. My purpose is to be able to have some conversations with them and talk about the theme. I went there after our workshop in the afternoon. At this time, people just got off work and finished their day's work. Many people will see the exhibition in Tate Britain. I found a lot of people in the exhibition hall, very crowded, basically there are three or four people in front of each picture. This makes me feel very relaxed, because I am very close to people and it is easy to have a conversation. If there are only a few people in the exhibition hall, I may be embarrassed to talk to others.

 The first visitor I communicated with was an old man. He told me that he believed that art has always served politics, and artists always discussed politics in their works, as shown in the paintings in these exhibitions similarly, the artist needs to depict the noble and dignified portrait of the monarch.

The second visitor I exchanged was a middle-aged woman. We met in the eighth hall. She was watching a portrait of a woman. When I asked her how she viewed the relationship between art and politics, she told me that art is connected to everything, including science and history, not just politics. Some artists in history choose to paint for power, and some artists create for other stuff. I very much agree with her.

After that, I chatted casually with a student. She said that politics can stimulate art creation, because we can't break away from the times, and politics must happen in every era we live in. This view is very useful to me.

Through these conversations, I learned that different people understand the relationship between art and politics. Maybe everyone does not understand exactly the same, but most people still believe that art and politics are inseparable. This is very different from what I thought before. I think many people think that art has nothing to do with politics. These conversations have changed my opinion. Among the several visitors in the conversation today, everyone's ideas are very worthy of my deep thought.

conversation with young designers

My theme is to explore the relationship between individuals and collectives. The artists & designers can be said to be one of the bridges between individual and collective. My friends in LCC's interaction design profession invited me to see the exhibition they hold at V & A. During watching this exhibition, I had a conversation with them. I wanted to know what the contemporary designer thinks about the relationship between the individual and the collective, and how to think about the relationship between art and politics. What is the connection between the two problems?

At the beginning, we talked about my motivation. Because of the epidemic, I thought about how to contribute to people as a designer, so I asked about their status in the domestic epidemic. They all said that while worrying about the country, they maintained the normal operation of their small systems. A recent phenomenon is that most of the Chinese students around me have started to do projects on this epidemic. The type of reading has also changed from literature and art to politics and history. This disaster may be the epitome of countless sufferings on earth. The biggest role of artists and designers is to appeal and speak, but it is actually to attract people's attention. We may not be able to solve the problem, but we can point out the problem. When everyone can think from different angles and break the original framework, when everyone dares to face the absurdity, it will be a new world beyond the present. This may be how contemporary artists and designers connect with the world.

This conversation gave me a good inspiration. When one of my friends heard the word "connection", she told me that in the eyes of the wizard, humans are bright eggs surrounded by spider-like fibers, and each egg has an aggregation point linked to the universe. The entire universe is composed of bright fibers that extend to infinity. The witch described them as bright fibers scattered in all directions without touching. They "saw" them as individual fibers, but gathered together in an incredible amount.
This description is very graphic, and the spider silk can indeed seem to be inextricably linked. I may try this kind of screen when doing a visual experiment.