For those of you with the backwards idea that art is pointless, I’ve got more fuel for my argument against you.

ABC News ran a story last Wednesday about contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, calling him “The Most Dangerous Man in China.”

This portly, bearded Chinese citizen works in a variety of media including sculpture, architecture, film and photography. These are excellent things on their own, but he is likely considered “dangerous” because of his criticism of the Chinese government.

There’s no denying he’s talented (he helped design the awesome Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics called “Bird’s Nest”), but he’s doing more with his art than just making things that look cool. He’s fighting back against a system he considers unjust and challenging institutions that have been known to censor what they don’t find acceptable.

He aided an investigation into the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in which thousands of students died after an estimated 7,000 poorly constructed schoolhouses collapsed. The investigation revealed many of the schoolhouses used inadequate materials and Ai recorded the names of over 5,000 children who died from the quake. He made a video about the investigation and also posted the names to his blog, which was later shut down by the Chinese government.

Ai used his artistic platform to bring the public a message and comment on corruption and the government’s poor response to the Sichuan earthquake. This is something I can respect as both a fellow artist and a journalist. His is fighting for democracy in a land where the government determines how many kids each couple can have and what its citizens can see online.

It is clear he feels strongly about this. His self-portrait is titled “Grass Mud Horse Covering the Middle.” This doesn’t make a lot of sense in English, but translated to Mandarin the title sounds almost the same as the Mandarin words for “F*ck your mother, the Communist Party Central Committee.” The piece is also a photo of him, naked accept for a well-placed toy, leaping into the air.

The film “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” also features him speaking directly to the camera saying, “F*ck you Motherland.” Also featured in the film are his young son and his mother crying over his safety. This shows how much he has to lose and yet he fights anyway.

It’s a brave and dangerous thing he’s doing and he’s already began paying for it. The government has secretly detained him, he’s been beaten by police to the point of cerebral hemorrhage and has been placed under household surveillance so the authorities can keep an eye on him.

But he keeps going in a fight for values we consider to be basic human rights. He’s an example in the extreme of what artists can accomplish. They can bring to the public arguments against what is popular or in power. Artists keep ideas circulating throughout society and challenge people to think in different ways.

As my fellow columnist and good friend Doug T. Graham would say, “There isn’t much else to life except thinking about things in different ways.”

Ai isn’t the only Chinese artist facing persecution from their own government, but he’s certainly come to represent them.

Seth Schroeder is a sophomore journalism major.

He can be reached at 581-7942 or DENopinions@gmail.com.