Here are ai weiweis answers to the questions he is asked most regularly. Beijing, may 22, 20 the ai weiwei studio released ai weiweis new heavy metal single, dumbass, the first piece of ai weiweis forthcoming music album the divine comedy. I left china telling my mother that i would return only when i was more famous than picasso. How chinese artist ai weiwei became an enemy of the state. Find more works of this artist at best visual art database. Each video is available for download as an innocuously labeled file on a chinese filesharing site similar to yousendit or rapidshare. Ais passport has not been returned to him and his freedom of travel remains restricted. Ai weiwei told me recently that he thinks the governments decision to detain him for 81 days last year and keep him under strict bail conditions ever since is completely related to his. Open in his criticism of the chinese government, ai was famously detained for months in 2011, then released to house arrest. Besides this act of remembering through an assembled name list of the departed children, he has called upon the government to take responsibility. These are times for the history books our courage inspires our neighbors. At first glance, the censorship seems invisible, but its omnipresent washing of peoples feelings and perceptions creates limits on the information people receive, select and rely upon. Good fences make good neighbors the artist ai weiwei is taking over new york city 300 site specific installations will be on display all over the city through. A cultural figure of international renown, ai weiwei is an activist, architect, curator, filmmaker, and chinas most famous artist.
Ai weiwei is a beijingbased artist and activist whose work encompasses sculpture, installation, photography, film, architecture, curation, and social criticism. Ai weiwei evidence at the martingropiusbau, berlin ocula. Ai weiwei is chinas most famous international artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. On the choice of music as his latest creative endeavor, ai explains, during my detention, the. It is now a source for news about the artist and his work. Firsttime director, alison klayman, spent three years following weiwei as he prepared for major. However, of the evidence in the file put together by public security, none was collected before 3. Human flow, a film about the global refugee crisis shot in 23 countries that documents the artists.
While ais art was lauded internationally, the frequently provocative and subversive dimension of his art, as well as his political outspokenness. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the chinese governments stance on democracy and human rights. Exhibition ai weiweis evidence article by aj kiyoizumi in berlin. Ai grew up in the far northwest of china, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his fathers exile. Conceptmain idea of lesson intended grade levels infusion. To find out more about ai weiwei and sunflower seeds, you can read the curators text or watch a video of the seeds being made. Ai weiwei speaks powerfully on the global refugee crisis. Ai weiweis provocative art has gotten him harassed by police, thrown in detention and driven out of china. Ai weiwei is one of the worlds most famous artists, consistently topping power lists and grabbing headlines around the globe. Hundreds of video questions are added to the site each day. The political maelstrom surrounding tans trial and reports of widespread police thuggery meant that rumors of ais condition and the potential cause of the cranial trauma spread quickly over the internet in the days following the artists hospitalization. Ai weiwei his only exposure to art and literature until adulthood. His art has been featured in major solo exhibitions including ai weiwei at blenheim palace, woodstock, uk, 2014. An outspoken human rights activist, ai was arrested by chinese authorities in april 2011 and held incommunicado for three months.
Ai weiwei hospitalized after beating by chinese police. We watch as an engineer explain in front of a tangled and toppled concrete pier how the building was poorly made and used sub standard material. They then detained four people, including a fake shareholder and the company accountant. T he american documentarist alison klayman had unequalled access to ai weiwei during the time he was working on the birds nest stadium for. Ai weiwei, wadegiles romanization ai weiwei, born may 18. Second, the subtitle ai weiwei on alcatraz underscored the idea that the. Weiwei ai was born on august 28, 1957 in beijing, china. Filmed by andreas heck, original music by tan dun, mixed and resampled by andreas heck. An interview with the chinese artist now resident in berlin. Ai weiwei, surveillance camera, 2010, marble, installation view ai weiweis ability to strike a balance between art objects for aesthetic and intellectual contemplation on the one hand, and a sustained and forceful critique of the chinese political establishment on the other, has made him a potent cultural and political force in recent years. Intended grade levels grades 912 infusionsubject areas visual arts social studies curriculum standards visual arts.
Ai weiwei gives his views on the artists role and responsibility and the communicative force of art. A master at communicating powerful ideas in astonishingly few words, ai weiwei is known for his innovative use of. Never sorry is a film about ai weiwei, a renowned chinese artist and activist who continually champions the values of democracy and human rights, and thus works in opposition to chinas authoritarian government. Ten years ago, ai weiwei settled in this village outside beijing, transforming it with galleries and studio spaces that.
His father, a famous revolutionary poet, fell out of favor with the chinese communist government. In 2006, even though he could barely type, chinas most famous artist started blogging. Ai weiwei is a chinese contemporary artist, active in blogging, sculpture, installation, architecture, curating, photography, film, and social, political and cultural criticism. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Based on a book by barnaby martin, it is an eloquent piece of quasidocumentary. Ai weiwei refugee crisis film to be screened at venice. At the controversial center of ai weiweis great wall of art in new york, the dissident artist is selfieobsessed and selfreflective. On 3 april 2011, public security took ai weiwei away. The quotable ai weiwei this collection of quotes demonstrates the elegant simplicity of ai weiweis thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics, and life. Release dates 1 also known as aka 0 release dates france 2 april 2014 tv premiere also known as aka it looks like we dont have any akas for this title yet. As part of agos september first thursday event, ai weiwei joined ago visitors for rare live video chat with ago ceo and director matthew teitelbaum.
Ai weiwei was born in 1957, a remarkable figure of chinese conceptual art and excessivism. As a sequel to ai weiweis film lao ma ti hua, the film so sorry named after the artists 2009 exhibition in munich, germany shows the. Arrest before investigation is a violation of the law. Ai weiwei baby milk sculpture opens in hong kong hong wrong. Ai weiweis new baby milk sculpture photos 3 hks annual art week saw its unofficial launch last night with the unveiling of ai weiweis new sculpture. Ai weiwei video chat due to ai weiweis political activism, the artists physical movements continue to be restricted by the chinese government. Upon his release, he was prohibited from traveling abroad, engaging in public speech, and. Manifestos and immodest proposals from chinas most famous artist and activist, culled from his popular blog, shut down by chinese authorities in 2009. Even to people unfamiliar with the art world, ai is a source of. Fairytale ai weiwei 2010 english subtitles youtube. Fairytale is one of ais two contributions for documenta 12 in 2007. The grainy photograph depicts ai smiling wryly as an officer looks on uncomfortably.
Ai weiwei ai xiaoming sam beattie andrew cohen rebecca kanthor matt ma zhao zhao. A closer look conceptmain idea of lesson in this lesson, students will engage in a deeper consideration of chinese artist ai weiweis work, noting important influences on the artist. Ai weiwei on his lego portraits of fellow activists the chinese artist created trace while under house arrest, and he wasnt. Free ai weiwei is an information hub that started when the chinese artist and activist ai weiwei disappeared for 81 days in march 2011. Ai weiweis work in chinese art history and looks at how the artist has deliberately. For this project, ai brought 1001 people including himself from all over. The documentary running beside staight provided this background and follows ai weiwei through areas of the devastation. For more than three years, ai weiwei turned out a steady stream of scathing social commentary, criticism of government policy, thoughts on art and. Ai weiwei is a chinese contemporary artist and activist. Ai weiwei online teacher resource ago art gallery of ontario. Ai weiwei began citizens investigation to remember the children who perished in the sichuan earthquake, and to console the parents who lost them. At the controversial center of ai weiweis great wall of. Chinese dissident artist ai weiweis documentary about the current refugee crisis, human flow, will premiere at the 74th venice international film festival. Chinas bestknown artist, ai weiwei, has been detained in beijing and police have searched his studio, confiscated computers and questioned.
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