what is the calling of an artist

 I am not an artist, but quite old fashioned about art. But I am surrounded by Lolo's family, who are artists and designers of avant garde art.

So right now I am reading Ai Weiwei's memoir 1000 years of Joys and Sorrows...

....

....

.. Smithsonian article here.

...

he has been in the news laterly because three of his sculptures were stolen from a German museum a few weeks ago:

One of the sculptures by Ai Wei Wei stolen from a gallery in Hamburg.COURTESY HAMBURG POLICE

this sculpture is about the environmental degradation.

Khan academy discusses his works protesting mass culture, and protesting corruption leading to shoddy school construction that resulted in the deaths of several thousand children when their schools collapsed:

Perhaps the work that contributed most to Weiwei’s current imprisonment and the destruction of his studio was his investigation of corruption in the construction of the schools that collapsed during the 2008 earthquake in Sichuan, China. 

of course here in the west he might soon be canceled for hinting he might be anti vax...