On April 3rd 2011, Ai was arrested.
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You’re in total isolation. And you don’t know how long you’re going to be there, but you truly believe they can do anything to you. There’s no way to even question it. You’re not protected by anything.
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Why am I here? Your mind is very uncertain of time. You become like mad. It’s very hard for anyone. Even for people who have strong beliefs.
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Once, after two days I couldn’t shit. Normally, every day I shit. Regularly. I go to the toilet every day.
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For 81 days in 2011, Ai Weiwei was detained by security forces. His crime was allegedly “tax evasion,� and during his imprisonment, two guards watched over him as he ate, slept and used the bathroom in a tiny cell.
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This is something you can never erase. It leaves a scar on you.
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CONTENTS
freedom 18 I think there is a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression.
Urns 34 Maybe to be powerful is to be fragile.
Seeds 50 Not an inch of the land belongs to you, but every inch could easily imprison you.
Names 66 The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
Fingers 98 If a nation cannot fact its past, it has no future.
Tweets 114 It’s about communicating. It’s about how we use the language which can be part of our history or part of other history, and how we transform it into today’s language.
Voices 146 If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
BRICKS 164 I often ask myself if I am afraid of being detained again. I love freedom as much as anybody else, maybe more than most. But it is a tragedy to live your life in fear. It is worse than losing your freedom.
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FREEDOM I think there is a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression.
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Ai Weiwei’s father was Chinese poet Ai Qing, who was denounced during the Anti-Rightist Movement. In 1958, the family was sent to a labour camp in Beidahuang, Heilongjiang, when Ai Weiwei was one year old. They were subsequently exiled to Shihezi, Xinjiang in 1961, where they lived for 16 years. Upon Mao Zedong’s death and the end of the Cultural Revolution, the family returned to Beijing in 1976.
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To express yourself YOU need a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.
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From 1981 to 1993, Ai Weiwei lived in the United States, mostly in New York. He studied briefly at Parsons School of Design and at the Art Students League of New York. He later dropped out of school, and made a living out of drawing street portraits and working odd jobs.
During this period, he gained exposure to the works of Marcel Duchamp, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns, and began creating conceptual art by altering readymade objects. When he was living in New York’s East Village (1983-1993), Ai carried a camera with him all the time and would take pictures of his surroundings wherever he was. The resulting collection of photos were later selected and is now known as the New York Photographs. At the same time, Ai became fascinated by blackjack card games and frequented Atlantic City casinos. He is still regarded in gambling circles as a top tier professional blackjack player according to an article published on blackjackchamp.com.
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Ai’s persona—which, as with Warhol’s, is inseparable from his art—draws power from the contradictory roles that artists perform in modern culture.
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J.J. Camille
Some people call you the Chinese Andy Warhol.
Ai Weiwei
I don’t see that. No, I’d rather say that Andy Warhol is the American Ai Weiwei.
J.J. Camille
I’ve heard that you don’t want to do domestic architectural design anymore. I guess only bigger projects, like designing a museum, would attract you now?
Ai Weiwei
Not necessarily. No matter how big or how small a project, if I like it, I want to work on it
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URNS Maybe to be powerful is to be fragile.
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Ai Weiwei maintains a classic love-hate relationship
it crashing to its death. Dropping rightly dominates
withclay: on-and-off, ecstatic and tortured.
the installation, a reminder of Ai’s fearless,
“Ceramics is kind of crazy,” he once claimed, but
transgressive iconoclasm or, alternatively, the depth
“if you hate something too much, you have to do
of his desire to clown his audience. The mystery
it. You have to use that.” Indeed, for an artist who
surrounding the frequent claim that the artist
claims to dislike the medium, Ai is certainly deeply
dropped one of the thousands of excellent fakes in
implicated, maintaining a pottery studio with 20
current circulation will never, for lack of a better
skilled ceramists located amid the former imperial
word, be cracked.
kilns of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. His output is prodigious, from traditional pots to “studio” work
Even though Dropping is one of the earlier works
unrelated to the vessel, and it has consistently
in the exhibition, it remains his most thought-
dissected and challenged China’s past and present,
provoking, and belongs to a small group of
exposing finely crafted mythologies about art,
20th-century ceramics that have changed the
civilization, connoisseurship and monetary value.
face of contemporary art. This class includes
This ambivalent passion has been captured in
Marcel Duchamp’s appropriated urinal, Fountain
“Dropping the Urn” a jewel-box of an exhibition
(1917), Isamu Noguchi’s The Queen(1931), Meret
focusing only on the artist’s ceramic investigations.
Oppenheim’s fur-covered spoon and teacup
The show’s name derives from what may be the
Object(1936), Kazuo Yagi’s Walk (1954) and Jeff
artist’s most iconic work, a triptych of large black-
Koons’ gilded neo-court porcelain, Michael Jackson
and-white photographs, Dropping a Han-Dynasty
and Bubbles (1988). In fact, Fountainand Dropping
Urn (1995), that makes us witnesses to the willful
make perfect bookends for 20th-century avant-
destruction of a superb, “museum quality” urn that
gardism. Both pieces were viewed as offensive
had survived for 5,000 years in pristine condition.
(albeit for different reasons), and in both the
In sequential images, the artist impassively sends
ceramic component was lost, one
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through indifference and the other by design. The
first individually signed ceramic artworks in China,
originals live on only as photographs. An equivalent
that mimicked with eye-deceiving fidelity wood,
ruthlessness applies in three other works, Coca-
nuts, root vegetables, gourds, rocks, cloth, leather
Cola Vase (1997), Colored Vases (2006) and Dust
bags and other materials. Watermelons (2006) is
to Dust (2009). The first two are Iron Age pots that
a pair of lusciously glazed melon forms that from
have been clobbered, the first with the addition of
a distance appear convincingly real (the artist
a painted Coca-Cola logo, the second by dipping
likes to show these in fields, in large numbers).
a group of pots in house paint to obscure the
Untitled (2006), a compelling installation, is a
millennia-old surface painting. Dust to Dust, one of
pile of sunflower seeds, China’s most ubiquitous
the show’s most complex pieces conceptually, is
snack-food, weighing exactly one ton. Each hand-
also the most prosaic, visually—an undistinguished
painted porcelain seed is a marvel of trompe l’oeil
glass jar contains Neolithic pots that have been
craftsmanship and in subtle ways made to be even
ground to powder. These three works dance nimbly
more beautiful and “aesthetic” than the seeds
as “contemporary” works, and generate arguments
themselves. With visual and contextual intelligence,
on multiple layers: cultural imperialism is attacked
the exhibition’s spare installation gives each work
from all sides in Coca-Cola Vase, while Dust to Dust
space to breathe, and follows a linked narrative
speaks with surprising humanity about lifespans,
that gently and appropriately loops back and forth
mortality and what we expect of form in art.
through history, much like the works on display. The accompanying catalog, like the exhibition, is unafraid
Ai is particularly fond of playing with clay’s mimetic
to wonder if the work holds up to close scrutiny
gift, its chameleon-like ability to convincingly
and can transcend shock or gimmickry. “Where is
disguise itself as another material. This quality was
Weiwei?” and “When is Weiwei?” are queries raised
originally explored in the virtuosic “maroon-clay”
in a fine essay by the Victoria & Albert Museum’s
Yixing wares from the 15th century onward, the
Glenn Adamson. The show pursues these open lines
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of inquiry in ways that give the viewer rational points of entry, allowing the artist’s extravagance and egalitarianism to battle each other, never letting us forget that Ai is a constantly moving target, as ready to break society’s rules as he is his own. Most importantly, however, this precise, exemplary show allows Ai’s ceramics their full voice as contemporary artworks autonomous of their ancient medium— contradictory, complex and compelling.
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Colored Vases, 2006/2008, nine vases from the Neolithic age (5000–3000 BCE), industrial paint, dimensions variable. Private Collection, USA. Photo by Greenhouse Media. Courtesy Arcadia University Art Gallery, Philadelphia.
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Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola Logo 10” by 11” by 11” paint / Han Dynasty urn 1994
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J.J. Camille
Paralleling China’s economic boom, Chinese art has become very hot in recent years. Yet critics say that some of the work is too derivative. What’s your opinion?
Ai Weiwei
I think they’re right. Contemporary Chinese art often lacks strong originality, since the basic thinking comes from the West. Today there is no real discussion in this society about esthetics, art or design in relation to moral and philosophical issues. The lack of free criticism puts its own special cast on Chinese art.
J.J. Camille
Some Chinese artists have become very famous and rich lately. I guess they prefer to focus on selling their work rather than challenging authority the way they did in the early ’90s, when they had nothing.
Ai Weiwei
I’m disappointed that they are too timid to challenge the status quo, to use their work to express a desire for social change and free expression.
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The process of Ai Weiwei dropping the urns.
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SEEDS Not an inch of the land belongs to you, but every inch could easily imprison you.
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It is difficult to gauge whether Ai Weiwei anticipated
China today. Fabrication of the required 150 tonnes
the initial impact of the large-scale commission
of seeds, from trials to completion, took almost two
Sunflower Seeds (2010) in the gray volume of
and a half years, and at its peak employed around
Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall. For many among its
1,600 artisans, placing Ai—a frequent visitor to the
audience, the installation—a vast field of life-size
community—in the ambiguous positions of factory
porcelain seeds—appeared from a distance to be
boss and art patron, controlling workers’ destinies
made not of real husks but of carefully raked gravel
just as the old elites had done. And, like the fragile
or chippings. Yet, whether the components were
porcelain seeds themselves, this curious project
handcrafted sculptures or industrial materials,
may bear limited fruit. The Jingdezhen workshops
the intended sense of dislocation, curiosity and
are much reduced—deregulation in the 1980s and
altered perception still arose. Confusion and
the closure of state-owned porcelain firms have
wonderment mixed as the mind struggled to grasp
left the city exposed to competition from provinces
the relationship between the individual and the
specializing in cheaper wares. Sunflower Seeds,
whole. Covering 1,000 square meters to a depth of
despite its unusual creation, paralleled the growth
ten centimeters, the work’s 100 million seeds were
of materialism, globalization and mass-production
manufactured by traditional methods and delicately
in China, and the increasing impotence of the
painted by hand in the city of Jingdezhen, the major
modern worker, creating meaningless products
center for the production of Imperial porcelain for
for distant, demanding markets. The seeds were
over a thousand years. Ai has long been fascinated
also potent symbols of the Cultural Revolution.
by the cultural traditions of materials and objects,
The characterization of Mao as the sun, and the
and of porcelain in particular—the survival of its
faithful as sunflowers turning to face him, was
artisan production, its supreme quality, its early
commonplace. The association here with the hopes
traditions of mass production and global export and
and savage disappointments of the time, both
the value still invested in it as a cultural artifact in
spiritual and material, was unmistakable. Tate’s
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decision to stop visitors walking on the work three
of political repression and censorship or of such new
days after it opened—a result of health concerns
threats to individual expression as materialism and
about inhalation of porcelain dust—increased this
even mass production. Sunflower Seeds expressed
sense of sorrow and stillness. It reinforced allusions
the responsibility he feels to articulate and further
both to ash, with its connotations of cremation,
this struggle, and of his belief in the transformative
and to the fundamental tensions between the
possibilities of society.
individual and the collective in Chinese society, as the field of seeds, seemingly identical yet each
Sunflower Seeds was extended beyond the Turbine
unique, laid dormant. There was also a related
Hall through Twitter. Booths alongside the work
personal association. Ai’s father, the poet Ai Qing,
allowed visitors to pose questions directly to Ai via
was classified as an enemy of the revolution in
video, to which he replied on the Tate website. From
1957, resulting in a harsh exile in Xinjiang Province,
these responses, it is evident that Ai feels the work’s
where sunflower seeds were one of the few dietary
role, and his role as artist, is to hint at universal
luxuries. Among the exiles there, the sharing of
questions concerning obligations, values, strengths,
seeds provided a moment of covert community
rights and materialism in society, and through these
solidarity. Ai has early memories of his mother
to challenge fixed power structures. Sunflower
hulling seeds with her teeth, proficiently preserving
Seeds was meticulous, beautiful, sparse, suggestive,
the kernel—the seeds still communicate such simple
even emotional, but it was not prescriptive. It may
acts of pleasure in an increasingly complex world.
have suggested connections, posed questions and
Ai’s vital practice utilizes such elements in his
inspired action, but the final interpretation, and the
own difficult life as pieces of grit to give his work
final decision about whether, and how, to act, was
meaning to a wider audience. He is driven by a
the viewer’s own.
long-standing desire to encourage both freedom of thought and the strength to act, whether in the face
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J.J. Camille
Not everybody has your openness. Yesterday when you left, I talked to your cleaning lady. She told me that she had worked for you since 2002, except for two years when she went back to her hometown in Anhui province. She returned to Beijing with her husband and kid, and they all have lived here in the house ever since, along with some of your associates. Her husband works as a renovator, and her child goes to school nearby. The cook’s family also lives here in your compound. It’s very rare in China that the people who work for you live in your home with their entire families from the countryside.
Ai Weiwei
Why not? We’re essentially the same. There is not much difference between them and me. In fact, some of them are very smart, but they haven’t had the same opportunities. I grew up in the countryside in Xinjiang province.4 Most of my old classmates stayed there for their entire life. Some passed away, some are fighting with illnesses. A lot of them retired and became old. But we were all the same before, only I had a chance to get out of there and do what I like.
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Sunflower Seeds by Ai Weiwei in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall.
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100 million seeds were manufactured by traditional methods and delicately painted by hand in the city of Jingdezhen.
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I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.
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J.J. Camille
Indeed, opportunity is vital, but not everybody can do what you’re doing.
Ai Weiwei
Well, artists don’t produce anything useful or practical for society. Think about it: we just express our opinions and our emotions through language or artworks. We’re not better, only different. I think we can afford to shoulder some responsibility.
J.J. Camille
You don’t just say it, Weiwei; you do it. That’s why people love you. I saw you have many visitors, and I assume you have lots of friends.
Ai Weiwei
Yes, there are always people coming to visit. I appreciate those who support me, but I have very few close friends. I think that’s very normal. Every person has his own life, with his own needs, beliefs and problems. I don’t have high expectations and don’t ask too much. With family, the same goes. It’s best to treat things with a light heart.
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NAMES The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
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Which one of your recent works do you like the
J.J. Camille
most?
My work of trying to identify the more than 5,000
Ai Weiwei
students who died in the Sichuan earthquake. One of the finished pieces [Namelist of Student Earthquake Victims Found by the Citizen Investigation, 2008] looks a bit like social research. But through the Internet, through volunteers, we overcame severe police restrictions and threats. We then used the Internet to get complete coverage and exposure of the event to the audience, winning great support from the public. I think that’s the most important work I ever did.
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The Chinese government rarely makes concessions
of natural causes rather than faulty construction.
to its citizens, especially when it involves allegations
On May 29, at shortly after midnight in Beijing, Ai’s
of governmental mismanagement and the actions
personal blog [blog.sina.com.cn/aiweiwei] was shut
of artist Ai Weiwei. However, the government’s
down by authorities in the middle of the two-day
unexpected announcement on May 5 that 5,335
Duanwu (“Mid-Summer”) Festival holiday, when
students died in last year’s Sichuan earthquake
many businesses and government offices in greater
appears to have been in response to efforts by
China were closed. Ai’s posts on May 26, 27 and 28
Ai Weiwei and other Chinese activists to call the
recounted several incidents of police surveillance,
government into account for the deaths. This was
including the tapping of his phone and his being
the first official figure released in what has become
followed by police.
a politically sensitive issue following accusations from parents that substandard construction caused
Ai’s 76-year-old mother recently became a target of
the collapse of more than 7,000 classrooms in
police attention as well. On May 26, four plainclothes
the region. China’s release of the number, without
policemen entered her home in eastern Beijing and
any names attached, was a major concession
interrogated her about Ai’s residence near the
to activists whose escalating calls for official
airport. She then phoned her son, who was attending
statistics fueled an international media frenzy
a reception at the American Embassy for United
during the one-year anniversary. The official toll of
States congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. After receiving
the earthquake is 68,712 dead with 18,500 listed
her call, Ai rushed home. When the officers in his
as missing and presumed dead. Following the May
mother’s house refused to present identification, Ai
12, 2008, earthquake, the Chinese government
dialed the emergency number 110. Additional police
pledged to publicly investigate the schools’ collapse,
officers soon arrived and all parties went to the local
but subsequently reneged on that promise, even
police station to file a report, a copy of which was
suggesting that the student deaths were the result
never provided to the artist.
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Ai vented his frustrations with the opaque
government’s, and he openly questions the veracity
proceedings of the police in a short statement
of the government’s numbers in light of their
posted on his Google Group “Citzens’ Survey”—which
reluctance to release a list of names. A May 23 entry
he uses to post articles deleted from his personal
on Ai’s blog, which details the project’s methodology
blog—on May 27. Ai writes: “Citizens aren’t soft
and findings to date, was meant to contrast with
persimmons, and who you offend today may not be
the government’s silence about its methodology.
so easy to push around tomorrow. Don’t take and
The artist believes his current figure represents
eat, and then turn around and feign ignorance.”
80 percent of those killed. Foreign and Chinese
As previously reported in ArtAsiaPacific 63 (May/
journalists, initially allowed into the affected regions
June), Ai’s blog served as an online platform for
in the weeks after the 2008 earthquake, have since
the Sichuan Earthquake Names Project, an effort
been subject to heavy restrictions. In the weeks
conducted by more than 50 researchers and
surrounding the one-year anniversary, reporters
volunteers to collect the names of the deceased
from The Economist, The New York Timesand other
students in towns across Sichuan province.
media outlets were repeatedly denied entry to
Affiliated researchers traveled extensively within the
affected areas. Researchers, including volunteers
affected region, recording their findings on Ai’s blog.
affiliated with the Sichuan Earthquake Names
Ai had originally planned to use this documentation
Project, became targets of police harassment, or
in an artwork or an event to commemorate the
were arrested and detained. One researcher in
earthquake. While no specific event was held on
Sichuan reported being arrested 15 times. The
May 12, as of May 23, the project has recorded the
significant international coverage of the Sichuan
names of 5,190 students. Ai notes that the majority
Earthquake Names Project may have contributed to
of those deaths—around 3,500—occurred in just 18
volunteers’ difficulties. For nearly four months after
of the 14,000 damaged schools. He is quick to point
Ai began reporting his findings, the artist’s blog
out the discrepancy between his figure and the
remained uncensored—a remarkable feat given
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his harsh criticism of the regime’s handling of the
deleted within hours, Ai accused Chinese authorities
disaster. However, in the week leading up to and
of widespread negligence and malfeasance in
following the May 12 anniversary, his blog entries
Sichuan. Speaking to the victims and about the
were systemically censored or deleted. Access
government, he wrote: “Your suffering and despair
to the blog remained open until May 28, but posts
are yours alone . . . Their main task is to corruptly
related to Sichuan were removed within hours. All
squander your wealth while sternly ordering you
internet portals in China, whether Chinese-owned
to keep secrets, misleading you to preserve your
or international, are required to remove or block
unhappiness. Because your misfortune is their great
web content deemed illicit by the government.
fortune.” Like earlier user-replies that included
Censorship had been uneven and blog content
letters of thanks and stories of hardship, Ai’s May
related to the Sichuan Earthquake Names Project
16 outcry elicited sympathetic responses from
remains accessible in English language translation
readers. One commenter writes: “I support you,
on numerous news aggregators. Beginning May
you are my single thread of hope in the darkness.”
21, Ai circumvented censors by creating a public
A post on May 17, which was removed within
Google Group forum where he posted previously
hours, records researcher Zhao Ying’s efforts to
deleted blog entries. The forum was accessible via a
recover two laptops, a camera and other personal
hyperlink in the sidebar of Ai’s sina.com blog.
effects confiscated by the Qingyang District police
The blog’s content changed to reflect the
office in Sichuan’s capital city, Chengdu. Identifying
experiences of Ai’s researchers, and the
the policemen by name and badge number, Zhao
increasingly strident editorial tone of his posts
details the hours he spent at the station, which
leading up to and since May 12 might have triggered
concluded with the police chief asking: “Are you still
recent censorship. Throughout April, Ai’s posts
investigating the official statistics?” and “Who do you
assumed a more journalistic and increasingly
work for?” before summarily dismissing him. On two
frustrated tone. On May 16, in a post that was
separate occasions, researchers by the
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last name of Lu and Yang were beaten in the towns
Volunteers are asked to contact FAKE Design Studio
of Qingchuan and Jiangyou. Victim’s families and
to assist with their ongoing inquiry into the collapsed
foreign correspondents unrelated to Ai’s project
schools’ structural integrity.
have reported similar treatment when investigating the aftermath of the quake. Ai’s studio is discussing how best to memorialize the student deaths. Currently, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, is exhibiting a memorial work, entitled Snake Bag, which consists of 360 grey and black backpacks that create a 15 meter-long snake. In its upcoming solo show, “According to What?” which will open on July 25 at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum, will include a materially similar work, Snake Ceiling (2009), in which coiled snake bodies will hang from a gallery ceiling. Munich’s Haus der Kunst also has plans to unveil an artwork related to the research project at Ai’s solo show, “Is There Going to be a Title?” which will open on October 12. On the morning of May 26, a post on Ai’s blog called for volunteers with engineering and technical expertise to aid in a “construction standards investigation,” a future Sichuan earthquake-related initiative. The post suggests that the privately conducted, statesponsored investigations have been deeply flawed.
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Ai Weiwei, Straight, 2008—12. Collection of the artist. Installation view at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC,
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On 15 December 2008, Ai supported an investigation, started by another Chinese artist, into student casualties in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Called the “Citizens’ Investigation”, it aimed to compile a list of students killed in the earthquake by 12 May 2009, the earthquake’s first anniversary. As of 14 April 2009, the list had accumulated 5,385 names. Ai published the collected names as well as numerous articles documenting the investigation on his blog which was shut down by Chinese authorities in May 2009. He also posted his list of names of schoolchildren who died on the wall of his office at FAKE Design in Beijing. Each of these dots that covered the next few pages represents a student victim who died in the earthquake. The size of the dot represents the age of the student victim when they died. It took Ai Weiwei and his team 16 weeks straight to collect all 5,385 names.
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16 12 9 17 12 10 17 6 17 8 17 17 13 5 14 10 4 12 13 14 13 10 11 15 16 13 3 14 16 16 11 15 4 8 17 14 22 16 12 11 3 14 19 18 15 13 7 7 11 11 7 17 16 17 13 20 12 9 15 15 8 15 12 15 14 8 17 14 16 11 16 11 15 14 15 9 12 10 18 11 16 9 13 12 8 17 14 18 10 15 11 8 15 9 9 12 17 6 10 12 11 16 13 15 16 17 16 16 13 17 18 14 13 15 13 16 7 18 10 14 8 12 7 11 15 16 15 17 15 17 14 15 7 16 15 17 12 16 18 14 18 15 12 14 16 16 18 15 13 15 15 8 11 15 10 12 16 11 9 12 14 16 10 9 12 12 17 15 18 16 6 17 12 13 10 15 15 13 14 15 18 4 8 12 15 18 17 15 10 15 14 17 11 10 10 13 17 17 16 7 16 15 5 17 7 18 8 6 18 18 8 16 16 8 15 17 15 16 16 14 20 15 6 12 12 11 11 10 14 13 16 15 17 9 15 8 16 12 15 7 14 14 7 6 11 15 6 11 16 10 12 13 18 16 19 15 9 13 12 13 16 16 8 12 5 16 13 17 12 14 12 13 14 15 17 11 16 5 8 15 18 15 16 3 9 9 14 5 17 13 11 12 18 11 16 13 18 11 17 12 14 15 13 4 15 15 14 17 14 11 15 14 9 15 11 18 16 5 16 11 16 10 9 5 9 16 12 13 5 15 14 9 20 12 7 15 4 16 15 9 14 7 18 15 8 8 16 14 15 7 8 11 8 10 8 16 15 8 13 12 14 13 6 14 9 11 14 18 9 16 16 9 18 9 15 8 19 12 18 16 15 10 16 15 6 17 14 15 8 16 18 15 7 16 15 12 10 15 10 17 10 15 12 7 13 16 18 11 17 7 15 14 9 17 9 9 12 7 9 9 15 13 14 16 4 15 15 8 11 9 12 17 11 14 11 17 8 12 10 16 6 15 15177 10148 84
NAMES
11 9 15 17 13 5 10 15 12 6 7 18 17 14 14 10 12 16 14 21 15 11 9 16 10 14 16 11 13 18 10 11 18 14 8 9 8 17 7 15 9 16 11 12 16 16 15 17 5 16 16 13 14 18 18 13 17 13 11 13 18 7 16 18 7 15 18 8 11 15 7 16 9 14 4 11 16 11 8 13 13 10 17 13 8 13 14 17 15 11 14 7 9 15 11 7 14 15 15 12 18 9 10 19 16 14 13 9 15 8 8 16 14 14 17 12 17 9 15 7 8 10 7 16 18 8 12 10 16 10 16 15 9 8 12 17 14 14 14 9 7 17 16 18 2 13 9 8 14 13 10 16 3 15 16 12 17 13 18 13 17 9 7 6 7 12 13 13 17 7 15 4 11 13 11 12 11 15 15 7 15 8 16 5 9 16 18 9 15 14 15 16 16 11 10 12 15 15 9 10 16 12 10 12 16 15 12 10 5 18 11 17 15 17 6 15 19 18 18 14 16 15 12 16 11 17 8 12 17 22 15 10 8 17 18 17 9 17 15 9 7 4 17 15 14 16 14 17 16 16 10 13 13 8 7 18 6 8 19 10 11 10 7 13 17 16 11 11 7 9 7 4 8 9 13 17 9 6 12 8 15 16 13 13 11 17 16 3 11 16 17 17 17 13 7 16 15 9 10 18 7 15 3 9 10 7 12 16 10 14 6 10 18 13 16 17 19 11 4 9 8 13 6 6 7 16 12 14 9 10 14 14 10 11 17 7 3 9 8 15 8 16 13 19 16 15 9 16 6 18 19 8 8 18 17 7 12 12 15 15 14 11 14 18 7 17 14 6 12 19 19 12 12 5 5 16 13 13 17 15 12 15 7 11 9 16 17 9 15 12 15 16 3 10 11 16 11 18 16 7 9 11 4 12 11 16 8 15 13 8 13 16 7 13 15 8 10 15 15 18 16 15 15 15 12 11 4 15 16 11 18 15 12 111717 81215 85
Censored
17 10 15 17 6 15 10 15 13 7 19 7 16 16 16 11 12 17 17 14 10 12 15 11 18 14 10 10 16 9 18 15 18 16 15 6 8 14 12 13 14 13 11 13 7 12 15 16 14 5 15 9 12 10 12 17 12 12 15 19 9 13 15 12 16 10 14 15 12 16 18 17 8 11 16 17 18 17 18 17 18 15 8 8 17 10 8 16 18 7 5 14 9 11 11 17 9 11 19 11 15 12 8 10 15 15 12 13 11 17 16 18 16 17 13 9 11 4 15 7 10 8 10 16 15 10 14 18 15 9 16 17 13 16 17 16 18 14 9 9 16 14 11 18 16 15 10 12 12 5 16 18 14 15 3 9 13 17 15 12 12 17 18 14 11 10 13 13 7 17 7 12 14 13 15 15 17 11 12 18 14 17 8 11 9 15 13 15 14 14 7 8 12 8 16 14 18 19 16 18 16 16 7 9 16 18 18 15 15 13 4 18 15 13 6 16 11 14 16 11 12 14 14 12 15 15 3 12 17 13 18 17 12 17 19 16 16 16 4 11 18 10 14 7 7 11 16 12 18 16 10 12 19 9 15 13 3 10 10 15 9 13 12 5 17 7 14 16 12 15 7 18 9 6 15 7 14 11 13 10 16 17 9 18 14 19 16 20 9 4 11 6 15 16 8 18 6 16 13 16 7 17 2 18 11 7 9 9 7 12 7 15 15 11 15 11 14 17 15 15 14 8 13 8 8 10 13 17 8 14 8 10 17 16 11 11 10 16 17 11 12 11 17 16 10 15 11 17 18 11 16 9 16 16 10 15 8 14 9 18 818 15 16 17 16 11 8 7 16 18 18 3 14 17 15 17 16 11 11 9 6 11 7 8 16 11 15 4 15 16 9 9 17 9 11 17 18 12 18 13 13 16 17 15 13 16 16 17 11 11 14 16 12 3 7 9 18 16 17 86
NAMES
6 10 17 7 12 17 8 7 14 10 11 16 11 16 14 12 14 15 13 17 12 9 4 17 15 12 15 6 18 7 14 12 9 17 15 18 11 15 5 10 11 15 15 15 15 9 6 17 16 15 12 12 15 16 18 17 15 9 15 11 9 12 8 15 13 16 17 12 10 12 12 14 9 20 8 7 17 18 4 7 17 12 11 10 15 11 9 14 4 15 13 7 16 17 15 16 16 12 6 11 17 10 15 16 17 5 15 17 15 18 17 16 12 16 18 7 16 8 12 18 15 12 15 14 15 11 11 8 9 15 16 11 17 15 11 7 16 9 12 9 12 15 7 16 9 6 8 6 12 7 9 11 13 17 5 8 18 11 4 9 15 16 16 14 10 16 11 10 7 5 10 8 11 12 10 18 13 17 17 5 6 8 14 11 12 8 7 7 15 9 12 11 9 18 12 18 15 18 17 18 9 8 11 13 10 14 8 13 17 14 16 13 8 17 11 7 12 14 13 17 10 13 5 15 14 9 19 9 6 17 11 15 10 12 14 17 10 4 14 8 8 10 8 9 16 13 18 18 4 11 9 12 14 8 11 11 18 15 10 14 17 7 15 13 11 15 13 9 4 6 12 11 6 9 11 17 11 16 17 17 18 17 15 11 16 8 18 13 13 13 15 16 7 5 8 11 15 9 9 8 2 17 16 15 13 14 16 12 9 8 8 12 13 19 13 15 9 11 7 15 16 11 16 19 13 16 16 16 15 18 16 18 8 14 12 4 10 9 10 6 10 10 14 18 9 9 3 18 11 18 16 15 16 15 13 7 11 16 10 17 15 15 12 19 7 14 11 17 14 18 17 16 15 5 11 9 15 15 14 1013 10 7 8 11 13 11 7 15 13 16 16 12 15 15 7 14 6 17 16 14 17 12 8 12 13 17 11 10 13 17 16 9 18 15 7185 18 14 161591315121418 11168 87
Censored
13 11 8 16 12 13 14 15 16 8 6 15 8 10 11 14 17 14 13 13 12 11 19 2 15 6 12 16 7 6 23 9 10 15 10 11 10 5 3 15 14 19 13 12 5 7 19 16 15 15 7 15 17 17 3 12 17 16 16 17 18 15 9 7 18 12 7 15 13 12 14 18 13 17 6 9 16 17 7 12 10 14 9 13 17 11 15 16 8 15 16 9 8 13 16 6 18 15 9 16 17 17 10 20 15 14 18 4 10 10 14 8 17 12 16 16 18 11 10 9 7 12 9 12 13 12 16 9 20 17 13 14 15 8 11 8 8 10 15 16 14 18 19 12 12 13 17 12 18 7 16 16 9 15 7 14 16 11 5 15 8 10 17 18 13 18 14 16 13 13 9 4 9 16 11 19 11 16 16 6 10 18 6 10 10 13 11 16 9 12 6 16 8 15 16 8 16 12 12 10 17 16 16 18 18 15 6 10 17 18 12 16 15 10 5 13 17 16 16 9 14 6 14 12 9 5 8 15 17 14 11 9 12 17 15 12 15 6 15 7 17 17 13 11 13 17 14 16 17 12 17 14 15 16 16 14 8 15 11 10 15 7 5 15 8 13 17 15 12 17 11 5 15 15 16 11 16 15 16 8 17 16 13 16 15 3 11 12 13 11 11 10 5 10 11 9 15 12 13 4 16 16 7 10 5 15 12 15 7 15 15 3 9 16 13 17 19 15 6 11 9 17 18 17 18 10 9 18 15 3 12 10 16 8 13 10 4 14 12 3 8 16 10 16 8 9 4 8 7 7 4 16 15 18 15 18 17 13 18 13 13 10 16 10 3 9 9 18 18 15 17 7 17 11 11 15 11 12 17 15 17 14 7 16 14 18 9 16 7 17 13 3 16 18 14 10 16 7 9 19 15 20 17 18 12 9 10 13 7 15 14 9 10 10 13 15 11 12 16 5 16 17 11 15 9 10 16 9 15 15 17 12 11 15 161610 1413 88
NAMES
18 9 11 12 15 13 15 9 18 13 11 16 18 16 18 17 14 15 14 14 14 13 11 16 11 6 11 12 4 1511 4 18 13 12 19 11 16 9 16 16 16 16 12 12 14 15 13 9 6 17 15 13 7 15 12 14 12 11 14 15 16 14 19 14 12 15 6 16 15 10 17 17 16 15 8 14 11 15 7 9 3 9 15 5 10 14 8 18 18 17 16 6 13 15 19 10 19 18 16 15 8 15 18 16 9 11 16 16 9 9 13 12 17 10 12 12 17 15 18 7 18 12 14 16 13 4 18 16 15 14 14 16 3 14 7 17 10 11 15 15 17 15 13 15 13 13 11 8 12 10 16 10 9 7 9 17 15 5 18 17 14 2 15 13 11 14 15 17 15 10 15 8 14 10 15 19 15 13 12 15 11 15 14 4 14 5 7 18 16 14 16 16 7 13 9 17 9 15 3 13 14 9 8 16 12 13 15 17 12 5 8 13 11 16 8 10 16 15 13 17 11 18 17 14 15 15 11 11 15 13 10 16 15 15 7 10 8 16 16 17 16 5 12 15 10 7 15 15 11 15 17 615 14 18 9 15 17 15 11 18 13 11 19 10 18 10 9 10 18 15 18 8 7 9 11 19 18 14 13 8 7 10 16 7 15 9 16 16 13 16 15 16 18 12 16 6 10 14 14 7 15 5 18 11 15 7 19 9 15 12 13 11 19 17 18 15 13 14 14 14 10 10 16 16 17 13 18 16 9 9 17 9 13 8 18 11 14 13 10 16 15 17 9 6 7 9 6 16 7 15 17 15 11 12 14 18 5 17 17 15 4 14 7 3 11 18 8 15 5 8 15 15 12 17 13 17 15 3 10 17 18 11 8 16 12 17 17 13 14 9 15 8 16 17 15 13 11 18 10 11 15 19 10 9 9 18 12 17 11 16 14 12 15 10 19 6 8 5 8 12 15 10 16 18 18 13 17 7 17 10 9 17 11 12 14 141011 141519 89
Censored
15 15 17 15 8 10 5 13 10 11 16 14 16 10 14 16 16 14 4 12 15 8 13 17 13 17 7 16 16 10 17 17 13 10 14 19 12 16 11 12 12 6 17 15 15 12 16 15 16 15 18 9 15 10 12 16 9 4 9 9 14 14 14 20 12 16 12 11 17 17 10 17 14 4 15 17 116 8 7 17 9 7 18 15 6 15 7 18 9 17 11 18 13 12 14 12 14 14 5 13 12 11 9 14 7 10 14 14 13 8 4 6 15 9 19 3 14 12 12 12 11 17 8 11 17 10 9 12 10 14 15 16 10 9 12 16 15 11 16 18 12 12 15 9 15 18 15 11 15 4 17 14 12 17 15 3 7 16 11 14 11 14 16 16 13 16 8 11 13 15 15 12 14 16 8 17 10 18 17 12 11 17 12 11 18 15 3 13 11 14 9 7 15 12 15 13 13 10 17 11 5 22 6 13 12 15 16 17 14 8 14 17 12 5 9 7 17 8 15 15 7 14 16 19 8 13 8 13 9 14 12 10 9 14 12 18 20 15 7 15 12 12 18 5 7 3 15 16 8 10 14 11 6 10 10 11 11 8 16 14 11 7 13 12 12 11 12 17 11 16 15 9 13 13 16 10 11 10 14 12 12 10 11 12 11 17 17 12 11 8 15 12 17 11 12 7 13 15 16 6 6 9 18 17 14 9 7 8 5 7 19 7 12 12 7 9 18 10 7 16 6 16 18 15 15 12 7 13 11 12 16 15 8 15 11 15 7 15 9 9 18 15 7 17 10 12 14 14 7 6 14 22 18 15 12 8 16 11 9 16 13 20 14 7 16 7 11 16 7 8 8 18 13 12 5 3 8 18 16 15 9 7 18 10 7 15 18 16 3 16 10 15 12 16 8 17 9 9 3 13 7 9 10 20 7 5 17 10 8 15 16 10 16 9 8 5 12 5 13 8 10 14 11 10 18 14 11 13 13 13 14 9 19 16 90
NAMES
17 16 15 15 8 11 10 9 16 12 11 16 11 16 5 12 13 17 13 12 11 10 8 8 18 17 4 9 6 12 9 10 15 11 18 9 15 18 17 15 12 9 7 13 8 19 16 16 10 11 11 13 7 16 15 13 11 9 13 17 17 16 6 9 15 10 18 18 14 16 18 15 10 10 15 8 18 15 18 12 12 15 13 9 10 11 12 16 17 14 19 13 11 11 11 17 13 13 11 7 16 6 17 4 16 6 17 17 14 15 12 15 13 11 11 17 8 7 12 15 12 13 13 10 4 15 8 12 6 10 10 4 12 7 8 17 18 17 15 4 11 14 11 18 15 16 4 14 13 9 11 14 11 17 17 10 12 9 13 15 8 18 9 7 6 18 5 15 9 20 9 18 11 15 15 7 17 17 11 6 16 20 19 15 16 16 7 18 17 15 11 12 10 15 13 17 9 18 17 12 12 18 13 17 10 13 9 13 16 15 8 15 6 10 14 14 10 6 6 4 17 14 13 11 11 9 12 8 9 10 9 14 13 13 17 18 15 9 17 16 13 13 16 18 14 8 9 17 15 15 11 4 18 6 14 17 10 17 8 17 11 9 14 17 12 12 7 17 15 14 8 17 5 18 14 20 17 10 11 7 16 17 11 11 16 16 15 16 16 11 11 5 17 8 16 8 12 18 9 14 12 10 15 8 3 15 16 9 11 17 15 16 14 14 17 11 17 16 15 18 18 17 15 13 10 11 10 6 9 16 14 17 14 13 15 12 10 17 9 18 18 10 15 18 8 18 15 12 15 11 16 20 15 12 9 16 14 9 14 9 8 4 12 16 7 10 15 15 10 14 15 15 16 11 15 15 16 18 9 6 14 14 12 9 11 15 18 17 22 14 9 15 17 2 4 15 11 11 7 16 16 15 3 17 8 10 19 6 14 10 9 13 9 17 16 9 15 10 9 9 13 17 17 6 19 7 17 1618171116691151511720 9 10 91
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15 10 12 14 7 13 11 9 5 12 7 11 18 17 19 15 10 13 16 12 9 13 17 16 17 17 15 12 5 8 14 14 17 16 8 16 9 13 9 11 18 14 12 14 11 15 19 9 7 9 16 7 16 19 15 10 13 15 10 4 8 17 17 13 13 10 8 17 9 8 10 17 11 12 14 8 12 16 10 14 15 15 16 10 14 10 17 13 11 4 17 15 18 96 6 11 17 12 16 6 15 17 18 16 12 5 12 16 9 5 15 18 17 7 16 16 6 8 13 6 11 7 6 3 6 16 17 15 18 14 14 16 10 17 17 10 22 14 5 15 12 15 9 8 17 16 8 7 16 15 15 7 7 10 18 11 12 18 17 14 12 18 13 14 8 15 11 3 5 17 5 15 7 8 15 15 16 17 16 15 17 16 17 4 5 14 10 11 13 10 9 16 18 16 18 18 11 10 15 18 6 16 15 12 13 14 12 15 15 16 4 16 18 7 16 14 15 17 14 10 13 8 8 14 11 11 19 15 12 21 16 16 7 8 16 11 13 10 10 11 17 15 10 13 12 17 7 14 10 9 18 8 16 7 14 8 16 12 16 16 11 13 17 15 9 5 9 17 14 11 7 4 14 16 17 18 12 14 15 15 8 17 10 16 15 13 14 10 6 13 17 13 11 15 14 12 12 6 4 16 8 17 10 13 10 9 7 15 13 17 6 18 10 11 10 9 5 14 14 13 14 12 8 15 12 10 8 12 16 13 9 17 10 8 16 10 18 14 15 18 8 16 17 15 17 17 15 14 15 8 17 17 14 11 14 11 18 13 17 11 15 14 18 8 6 18 15 7 17 17 12 14 17 13 17 17 15 19 14 8 6 12 18 10 15 16 10 12 8 13 15 18 15 13 13 8 19 13 5 12 11 10 13 11 13 15 16 8 67 10 19 8 3 17 17 9 12129 11 161615101815191214 1110 92
11 15 19 10 19 12 14 3 11 8 10 13 11 19 8 12 5 15 17 10 15 10 5 14 13 17 16 15 17 16 9 12 6 10 17 16 17 18 8 18 12 17 6 9 7 11 8 10 7 11 17 13 13 18 11 16 13 15 17 17 16 14 11 15 14 17 15 13 17 16 4 8 10 10 15 17 8 19 16 8 9 6 9 19 13 18 14 10 12 17 16 11 14 13 16 14 8 13 6 9 17 10 18 13 18 15 7 14 17 12 7 6 15 11 12 17 12 10 14 10 10 9 13 13 15 19 15 14 16 2 10 12 17 6 6 15 7 14 8 17 11 11 14 4 13 19 14 12 17 16 9 15 9 8 12 10 9 15 7 7 22 11 17 17 17 12 18 13 16 18 16 11 16 10 12 16 8 12 7 16 15 10 12 11 8 15 13 15 16 10 17 14 13 15 12 16 14 14 15 14 15 10 12 10 16 9 11 11 7 13 7 18 15 13 13 18 8 16 98 11 16 4 14 17 16 16 16 15 17 15 16 16 5 5 6 17 15 3 15 15 11 14 15 8 14 18 16 18 15 14 16 13 14 12 12 11 12 5 17 8 10 16 7 18 17 10 8 9 16 7 16 12 12 7 12 12 10 5 9 16 16 14 14 11 8 7 11 5 15 13 16 13 8 13 6 9 14 8 17 16 17 16 10 17 7 12 16 14 9 5 14 12 10 5 13 12 11 10 6 15 13 104 16 14 13 2 10 18 13 16 14 6 17 11 10 11 11 14 15 17 16 10 8 17 2 17 15 4 10 17 10 8 5 15 13 13 16 10 9 7 11 11 15 14 14 16 7 12 11 7 14 17 10 15 10 16 16 18 7 17 17 12 14 17 14 15 8 11 15 8 14 13 7 5 12 10 10 15 11 19 14 4 16 7 16 8 14 11 12 8 10 15 15 9 12 14 15 9 15 7 8 18 3 16 14 5 1413713 161210812 NAMES
93
4 17 2 9 17 11 14 9 8 13 Censored
94
NAMES
邹屿晨
女
2004-05-24 04
遵道欢欢幼儿园
邹远强
男
1991-06-28 17
东汽中学
邹悦成
男
2006-01-27 02
遵道欢欢幼儿园
邹召凯
男
1999-03-14 09
新建小学
左成飞
男
1991-11-14 17
北川中学
左豪
男
1997-09-14 11
富新二小
左蔓丽
女
1994-12-15 14
木鱼中学
左尚超
男
1999-08-23 09
新建小学
左绍东
男
2000-11-02 08
南坝小学
左宇明
男
1995-06-17 13
木鱼中学
95
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Ai Weiwi, Remembering, installed at the Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2009
96
NAMES
97
Censored
FINGERS If a nation cannot fact its past, it has no future.
98
FINGERS
Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square
99
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Study of Perspective - Red Square
100
FINGERS
Study of Perspective - Reichstag
101
Censored
Study of Perspective - San Marco
102
FINGERS
Study of Perspective - Berne
103
Censored
Study of Perspective - Eiffel Tower
104
FINGERS
Study of Perspective - Mona Lisa
105
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Study of Perspective - White House
106
FINGERS
Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
107
Censored
On New Year’s Eve 2008, during a conversation
portraits of the artist and his large, well-fed belly
with curator Hans Ulrich-Obrist at Vitamin Creative
appeared under the title, “It’s getting bigger every
Space’s Beijing branch, artist-provocateur Ai
day.” The portraits present a portly man unaffected
Weiwei predicted: “2008 was the first year that
and, if anything, amused, by the government’s
China safeguarded legal rights; it’s when people
activities. Posts later in the month adopted a more
started to wake up. But in 2009, I think China will
serious tone, listing the government’s more heinous
confront greater problems.” These words now seem
offenses: “Selling AIDS-infected blood, corrupt coal
unnervingly prescient, given that the first six months
pits, fake news, those who should be administering
of 2009 in China were marked by politically sensitive
justice violating it, widespread corruption, rights
anniversaries and often-violent protests including
violations, internet censorship; all you need to ask
riots by members of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang
is a question for you to be anti-China.” In late June,
province. From his Beijing studio, Ai continued his
Ai’s activism broadened to include protests against
calls for a more responsible government even as
Green Dam-Youth Escort, web-censoring software
China stepped up its response to the artist’s efforts.
that filters content and limits access to certain
After tense interactions with Chinese authorities
websites. The government planned to require that
in May, which culminated in the closing of his Sina.
the software be installed on all computers sold in
com blog and a visit by police to his mother’s home,
China after July 1 to block access to pornography.
government antagonism continued in June and July.
Ai objected to the software as an intrusion upon
Ai re-opened his blog on servers located outside of
individual liberties and went so far as to call for an
China [http://blog.aiweiwei.com], writing new blog
internet boycott on the launch date. According to
posts, both humorous and irate. On June 7, Ai posted
Ai, the web-boycott was observed by 6,000 people.
grainy photographs of surveillance cameras installed
Ai’s efforts were part of a larger outcry; the United
outside his house and unmarked vans stationed
States warned that the software would violate free-
on the street. The following day, black-and-white
trade agreements and pressed China to reverse the
108
FINGERS
Ai organized a group show in 2000 called FUCK OFF that included experimental and performance art, displaying a multitude of issues concerning the art world.
109
Censored
110
FINGERS
111
Censored
decision. On June 30, the government postponed
project researchers to the affected regions. In a
the mandatory software installation. Although
July 9 blog entry, project researcher Liu Yaohua
minor provocations comprise many of Ai’s daily blog
detailed his 17-day trip in Sichuan during which
entries, his long-term focus remains the Sichuan
he documented collapsed schools, took samples of
Earthquake Names Project, an effort conducted by
foundations and photographed the damage. Police
more than 50 researchers and volunteers to collect
maintained a noticeable presence Liu reported,
the names of the deceased students in towns across
and visited his hotel room in Mianyang, a town near
Sichuan province. On July 28, Ai declared the project
Beichuan. Research in the area was suspended
“basically complete,” after researchers collected
on July 19 when police intercepted Liu’s car and
the names of 5,194 students who died in collapsed
interrogated the two drivers and three researchers
schools during the May 12, 2008, earthquake.
on board for an entire day.
Project volunteers confirmed that 4,803 children perished; the remaining 391 children’s deaths are
The team resumed their research in Deyang, a
unlikely to ever be confirmed because of incomplete
town 50 kilometers to the south. Select content
school registries and logistical impediments.
from Ai’s blog will soon be available in printed form.
Ai’s researchers tallied 141 fewer student deaths
Beijing-based translator Lee Ambrozy is compiling
than the government’s official number of 5,335, and
separate English and Chinese volumes, but because
their research refutes the official claim that 1,300
of the sensitive political content, negotiations with
students died in Beichuan Middle School. Instead,
publishers are ongoing.
Ai’s team confirmed 786 student deaths. Two weeks before the final count was released, Ai had launched a new phase of the project beginning his own inquiry into the collapsed school’s structural integrity, sending volunteer engineers alongside experienced
112
FINGERS
Tiananmen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City.
113
Censored
TWEETS It’s about communicating. It’s about how we use the language which can be part of our history or part of other history, and how we transform it into today’s language.
114
TWEETS
115
Censored
Blogs and the Internet are great invention for our time, because they give regular people an opportunity to chan public opinion. 116
TWEETS
nternet inventions
ive an change
117
我郑重的宣布， 一个开骂的时代 我们要轻声的骂 Censored
118
布， 时代开始了， 的骂死敌人 TWEETS
I solemnly declare that here comes a name-calling era, and we would curse the enemy softly to death.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More June 10, 2009
119
掀警车这种超强 炼。我喜欢这个 能是我唯一喜欢 一定会参加的。 Censored
Overturning police cars is a super-tough workout physically. I enjoy this sport event which probably is the only sport event I like, and I will definitely participate in.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More June 15, 2009
120
超强度的体能锻 这个项目，这可 喜欢的项目，我 的。 TWEETS
121
Censored
在这个国家，暴力不仅 存权利的剥夺，更是对 夺， 包括质疑的权利 情的权利，政权不惜一 获得这些权利而付出的 下的死亡是没有尸首的
122
TWEETS
不仅仅是对普通人的生 是对人的表达权利的剥 利，问讯的权利，知 惜一切代价的摧毁为了 出的努力，死于暴政之 首的。 In this country, tyranny deprives not only ordinary people of their rights to life, but also their rights to express their opinions, including the right to question, the right to inquire and the right to know. All the efforts to acquire the rights have been destroyed by the authorities at all costs. People who died of tyranny had no place to be buried.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More June 21, 2009
123
恐怖不是来自于 暴，恐怖来自于 残暴的默许。哀 Censored
124
自于野蛮和残 自于普遍的对于 。哀。 TWEETS
Horror does not come from savageness and brutality but the universal acquiescence in brutality. Sadly.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More July 4, 2009
125
结束语是这样的 上不爱睡觉的人 用指尖的敲击结 个黑暗时代，堪 Censored
Let these be the last words: the persons who hate to sleep early at night and love to stroke the keyboards in front of monitors create a miracle of ending the last dark age.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More August 2, 2009
126
样的：是这些晚 的人，在荧屏前 击结束了最后一 ，堪称奇迹。 TWEETS
127
Censored
我们要让极权终结在我 个荣誉我们会当仁不让 我们的父辈及父辈的父 交给后人的是一个全新 同的现实。
128
TWEETS
在我们的手上，对于这 不让的用来雪耻，为了 的父辈，从我们的手中 全新的明亮的欢快的不
We shall terminate the totalitarianism in our own hands, and therefore take this honor for granted to avenge generations of our fathers and grandfathers. We will pass on the offspring a brand new reality which is bright, lively and totally different.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More August 10, 2009
129
Censored
如果说二十年前发生的 屠杀，这次准备的庆典 再次亵渎，对事实真相 代人变成白痴，对于这 织起来走方队已经是超 What occurred 20 years ago was the massacre of lives of students, what occurs currently is the profanity of souls of students, and a generation had been twisted into idiots due to the trample of truth. As far as these 100,000 retards were concerned, they already outdid themselves this time by getting organized to do goose-stepping.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More August 29, 2009
130
TWEETS
生的是对学生的生命的 庆典则是对学生灵魂的 真相的践踏歪曲终将一 于这十万脑残，能被组 是超常发挥了。
131
在我们微博上的 快活就是专制和 的一次死亡。 Censored
Every delight we had on Twitter is a death of dictatorship and totalitarianism.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More September 3, 2009
132
上的每一次 制和极权 。 TWEETS
133
Censored
他们能对我做什么呢？ 架、监禁、或制造人间 象力创造力，缺少快乐 这样的政治集团是可怜
134
TWEETS
呢？无非是驱逐、绑 人间蒸发，他们没有想 快乐和飞翔的能力， 可怜的。
What can they do to me? None other than deportation, kidnapping and imprisonment of me or make me completely vanish. They don’t feature imagination and creativity, and they are lack of happiness and the capability to soar up into the sky, what a pathetic political group.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More November 19, 2009
135
这个国家最需要 其清白，证实其 其神志正常，这 惧的。 Censored
What this country needs most is to prove its innocence, to prove that it is legitimate, and to prove that is sane. This is also what it fears the most.
Reply | Retweet | Favorite | More August 13, 2009
136
需要做的是证实 实其合法，证实 ，这也是它最畏 TWEETS
137
Censored
J.J. Camille
You made some pretty strong statements lately about living conditions in Beijing.
Ai Weiwei
I said something, but when the news came out, the media added provocative subheadings, implying things that I didn’t say. I understand that reporters and editors need to grab attention, but sometimes they cause me, my family and my colleagues unnecessary trouble.
138
TWEETS
139
Censored
On September 21, Ai Weiwei left Munich University
and Xie’s document presented evidence of shoddy
Hospital, where he had received treatment for
school construction and alluded to widespread
a brain hemorrhage. He entered the hospital
government malfeasance at the local level. Tan’s
on September 14, and underwent emergency
arrest in March followed previous police incursions
surgery that night after his condition rapidly
into his home and confiscation of computer disks,
deteriorated. Photographic documentation of Ai’s
papers and materials related to the “5.12 Student
hospitalization ensued, first posted on his Twitter
Archive,” the working title for his investigation. Such
feed and later circulated through online art-world
intrusions caused the activist team to conclude the
news aggregators. Images of the surgeon, Jörg-
investigation two months prior to their originally
Christian Tonn, a camel park near the hospital
proposed May 2009 end date.
and an Oktoberfest beer maiden commingle with post-op shots of three thick braids of stitches on
Ai agreed to testify at the trial at the suggestion
Ai’s shaved head—small amusements gesturing
of Tan’s lawyer, who believed that the artist’s
to an absurd and unpleasant reality. A long chain
findings from the Sichuan Earthquake Names
of events led up to Ai’s hospitalization. On March
Project—instigated after government promises of an
28, the prominent Chinese writer and activist Tan
official investigation failed to materialize (reported
Zuoren was arrested in his home in Chengdu on
in AAP 64 and 65)—would aid in Tan’s defense. The
charges of “inciting subversion of state power.”
project, a coordinated effort involving more than
This came three days after the online publication of
60 volunteer researchers to collect the names
the concluding document from his and Xie Yuhui’s
of the deceased children, closely paralleled Tan’s
investigation into the deaths of more than 5,000
efforts. Collaborators on the project have reported
schoolchildren in collapsed classrooms during
repeated police harassment and detentions by local
the May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Entitled
authorities. Witnesses for the defense, including Ai,
“Independent Investigative Report by Citizens,” Tan
were ultimately unable to testify at Tan’s trial
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Ai Weiwei photographing himself at a Munich hospital in September 2009, with a bag containing fluid that was surgically removed from his skull. Courtesy the artist and Haus der Kunst, Munich.
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at the Intermediate People’s Court in Chengdu on
Names Project have a prominent place. Constructed
August 12; they were interrupted at their homes in
for the exhibition, Remembering(2009) decorates
the early hours before the trial by local police intent
the facade of the museum with 9,000 children’s
on preventing their testimony. At 3 am that day,
school bags that form the sentence “She lived
Ai was reportedly beaten by police in his Chengdu
happily for seven years in this world.” Inside the
hotel room. Six other scheduled witnesses and
museum, blog entries are mounted on panels above
ten Chinese volunteers affiliated with the Sichuan
which hangs an image, taken by Ai on August 11, of
Earthquake Names Project attending the trial
uniformed police outside his hotel room in Chengdu.
were also temporarily detained. Local police held
The grainy photograph depicts Ai smiling wryly as an
television reporters from Hong Kong’s Now TV for
officer looks on uncomfortably.
more than seven hours, searching their luggage and personal effects. Numerous members of Tan’s
The political maelstrom surrounding Tan’s trial and
family were barred from the courtroom. At press
reports of widespread police thuggery meant that
time, a verdict had yet to be issued on Tan’s case,
rumors of Ai’s condition and the potential cause of
a full two months after the trial and seven months
the cranial trauma spread quickly over the Internet
after his initial arrest. Ai remained in Beijing for
in the days following the artist’s hospitalization.
three weeks after the beating in Chengdu before
Images of the bedridden artist, largely provided
flying to Munich on September 13. While in Beijing, he
via Ai’s Twitter feed, incited rampant media
repeatedly complained of dizziness and headaches,
speculation. A September 21 news conference
but attributed these symptoms to exhaustion. The
following his discharge from the hospital did much
dizziness became acute after arrival in Munich,
to clarify inaccuracies and seemed to confirm the
where Ai was to install his solo exhibition “So Sorry”
causal relationship between the August 12 beating,
at the city’s venerable Haus der Kunst, a show in
subsequent head trauma and September 14 surgery.
which artworks related to the Sichuan Earthquake
In China, the case is still under review by the
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authorities, but formal resolution on the Mainland
German cultural tensions. Quarrels between the
appears unlikely in the near future. Ironically, the
Frankfurt Book Fair (the world’s largest, taking
proliferation of images of Ai’s hospitalization may
place October 14–18) and this year’s Guest of
be linked to the collaborative blogging project he
Honor country, China, have been ongoing since
undertook with the Haus der Kunst in conjunction
mid-September. The Chinese delegation walked out
with “So Sorry.” For the project, the artist blogged
of a pre-fair panel discussion on September 12
for the first time in English, documenting the
because it included writers Dai Qing and Bei Ling,
progress of the installation and his time in Munich.
whose books are banned in China. In the spirit of
This gesture was an important historical nod to
“democracy in action,” according to a statement
blogging’s centrality within Ai’s artistic practice,
from fair director Juergen Boos, the fair has no
but also created an outlet through which images
plans to remove potentially controversial figures,
of the ailing artist proliferated. By September 30,
including an emissary from the Dalai Lama, exiled
Ai had supplanted words for images on his Haus
Nobel Prize winner for Literature Gao Xingjian and Ai
der Kunst blog [http://aiweiwei.blog.hausderkunst.
Weiwei, from its event schedule.
de]. He posted these remarks in advance of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China on October 1: “After 60 years of struggle, we come back to the ground zero. We still have to fight for essential values of life and live in dangerous conditions, which threaten citizens’ lives if you demand freedom. If one sentence can make a conclusion of these 60 years on the first of october that will be: 60 years of shame and ignorance.” Ai’s hospitalization falls against broader Sino-
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VOICES If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
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“I’m released, I’m home, I’m fine,” Mr. Ai said in
China’s move to douse any flicker of dissent was
English after being reached on his cellphone shortly
the harshest in years outside of the restive ethnic
before 12:30 a.m. Thursday. “In legal terms, I’m
regions in the far west, and the vast majority of
— how do you say? — on bail. So I cannot give any
those detained in the crackdown were, like Mr. Ai,
interviews. But I’m fine.” Photographs of Mr. Ai taken
held in secret locations for weeks with no legal
as he arrived after 11 p.m. Wednesday at his vast
justification. Chinese officials announced in May that
studio in the Caochangdi arts district of northeast
the authorities were investigating Mr. Ai on suspicion
Beijing showed him smiling, wearing a blue T-shirt,
of tax evasion, after police officers took him from
and with his trademark bushy beard streaked with
the main Beijing airport on April 3 as he prepared to
gray. The shirt hung loosely on him, his girth reduced
board a flight to Hong Kong. Supporters of Mr. Ai said
during his time in custody.
the tax inquiry was a pretext to silence one of the most vocal critics of the Chinese Communist Party.
The release of Mr. Ai, 54, who is widely known
Mr. Ai is presumed to be well connected because he
and admired outside of China, appeared to be a
is the son of Ai Qing, one of the most beloved poets
rare example in recent years of Beijing bowing to
of modern China. His detention was nearly certain
international pressure on human rights, though the
to have been approved by top Chinese leaders. It is
terms of his release may silence him for months or
unclear what kinds of discussions took place within
even years, giving hard-liners here at least a partial
elite political circles that ultimately led to his release.
victory. Mr. Ai was the most prominent of hundreds
But China came under unusually heavy pressure
of people detained since China intensified a broad
from all corners of the globe, not only from standard
crackdown on critics of the government in February,
diplomatic channels but also from prominent people
when anonymous calls for mass protests modeled
like Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, who
after the revolutions in the Arab world percolated on
harangued China in May at a Manhattan opening of
the Chinese Internet.
an outdoor sculpture exhibition by Mr. Ai, and Anish
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Kapoor, a leading sculptor in Britain who this month
told to go to a police station in Beijing. “She didn’t
canceled a show planned for the National Museum of
know what would happen, and then the police said
China in Beijing. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China
that Weiwei was free to go with her back home,”
was scheduled to visit Britain and Germany starting
Ms. Gao said. Mr. Ai got home before midnight, and
on Saturday, and he almost certainly would have
his mother went to meet him. “All I care about is
encountered protests and condemnation, whether
that he’s home now,” Ms. Gao said. Word of Mr. Ai’s
on the streets or in private meetings.
release first emerged in a report posted online
“Without the wave of international support for Ai
Wednesday night by Xinhua, the state news agency.
and the popular expressions of dismay and disgust
It said in English that the Beijing police had released
about the circumstances of his disappearance and
Mr. Ai on bail “because of his good attitude in
detention, it’s highly unlikely the Chinese government
confessing his crimes as well as a chronic disease
would have released him,” Phelim Kine, an Asia
he suffers from.” Xinhua also quoted the police as
researcher for Human Rights Watch, said in an
saying that Mr. Ai had repeatedly said he was willing
e-mail. “The public announcement of his release
to pay the taxes he had evaded. The news agency
signals that the Chinese government has had to
reported the authorities as saying that Beijing Fake
respond to this pressure and that the cost-benefit
Cultural Development Ltd., a company controlled
ratio of continuing to detain him was no longer
by Mr. Ai, evaded “a huge amount of taxes and
tenable.” Mr. Kine noted that less visible Chinese
intentionally destroyed accounting documents.”
remain missing and “at high risk” of torture. Among
“Bail” is the shorthand commonly used as an English
them are Wen Tao, a former journalist and aide to
translation of the Chinese term “qubao houshen,”
Mr. Ai, and other associates of Mr. Ai, including Hu
which means obtaining a guarantee pending trial.
Mingfen, Liu Zhenggang and Zhang Jinsong. Gao Ge,
It generally means that prosecutors have decided
Mr. Ai’s sister, said in a telephone interview that Mr.
to drop charges against a suspect on certain
Ai’s wife, Lu Qing, got a call on Wednesday and was
conditions, including good behavior, and to monitor
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him over a period of time during which charges could
and his incarceration was widely considered an
be reintroduced. “This is a technique that the public
attempt to silence a prominent critic while buying
security authorities sometimes use as a face-saving
the authorities time to decide on the legal grounds
device to end controversial cases that are unwise
for prosecuting him. He was held in an undisclosed
or unnecessary for them to prosecute,” Jerome A.
location. On May 15, police officers took Mr. Ai’s
Cohen, a scholar of the Chinese legal system, said
wife, Ms. Lu, to see him. Ms. Gao said afterward
in an e-mail. “Often in such cases, a compromise
that Ms. Lu had reported that Mr. Ai seemed healthy
has been reached in negotiation with the suspect,
and was being given access to medication. On May
as apparently it has been here.” Mr. Cohen said Mr.
20, a Xinhua report said the police had concluded
Ai’s release “is very good news and perhaps the
that Mr. Ai had evaded taxes and destroyed financial
very best outcome that could have been expected
documents. The police can legally continue to pursue
in the circumstances of this difficult case.” Liu
the case for up to one year after “qubao houshen”
Xiaoyuan, Mr. Ai’s lawyer, said in a Twitter post that
releases. During that time, the suspect is allowed
as long as the taxes were paid, Mr. Ai would probably
freedom of movement, but the police generally hold
remain free. Mr. Ai’s family members have insisted
onto his travel documents. Few dissidents who have
that he is innocent of the accusations against him.
been detained in recent years have been shown
Ms. Gao said in May that Mr. Ai was neither the
leniency. International pressure so far has not
legal representative nor the chief executive of the
helped Liu Xiaobo, a writer who was sentenced in
company accused of evading taxes and should be
2009 to 11 years in prison on subversion charges.
freed. During his detention, the family also said that
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last October,
Mr. Ai had been suffering from high blood pressure
which he was not allowed to collect.
and diabetes, which required medication. After Mr. Ai was detained on April 3, the authorities did not immediately detail any charges against him,
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BRICKS I often ask myself if I am afraid of being detained again. I love freedom as much as anybody else, maybe more than most. But it is a tragedy to live your life in fear. It is worse than losing your freedom.
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It was a cold rainy September day when I landed
bungalow on the right, leaving me on my own.
in Beijing, and for the entire week the city was
It was very quiet inside. Across the courtyard,
enveloped in thick mist. The top of any building over
enclosed by a high brick wall, was Weiwei’s studio
20 floors high disappeared into the “fog”—actually,
house—the stark live/work space he designed
as every Beijing resident knows, a chemical haze
himself. While some call its architectural style
mixed with dust.1 Like many visitors in recent years,
minimalist, he calls it “essential.” Many structures
I suffered a persistent sore throat and cough. Yet
in the area echo his gray brick walls and matchbox
miraculously, when I went to visit Ai Weiwei, the
studio forms. His courtyard does not have the
wind blew away the smog, and the autumn day
perfectly groomed lawn and manicured garden one
turned crisp and balmy. I actually saw the sky, I mean
finds in the West, nor even the carefully arranged
the blue sky, for the first time. I had met Weiwei
rocks, groves and ponds of a traditional Chinese
previously both in China and the U.S., but this was
quadrangle. Instead, it is natural, spacious and
the first time I visited his home in the Caochangdi art
homey. Among the many plants was a dense stand
district. The street was quite empty; there were no
of bamboo that I thought grew only in the south. In a
cars or pedestrians outside his compound. Several
corner of the lawn, under shade, sat a round garden
people warned me against visiting Weiwei now,
table, a bowl of fresh jujubes and a few empty chairs.
and my friend would not let me use his cell phone
A little dog rolled about on the ground happily; four
to call for an appointment. But since I am neither a
or five cats, of various colors and shapes, lay in the
journalist nor a political activist but simply an art
sunshine on the doorstep and on top of a big rock.
lover who wanted to talk with him, I went anyway—
The door was open. I saw a very long and sturdy
unannounced. I was a bit nervous while ringing the
wooden dining table and a dozen or so antique chairs
bell near the Fake design studio sign.2 A middle-aged
lined against the brick wall. The house is built like a
man opened the now famous blue door. “Is Weiwei
loft with very high ceilings in the living room area and
in?” I asked. He nodded and walked back into the first
a full second-floor bedroom above the kitchen.
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“Is anybody in?” I called a few times. Getting no
aroused by the loud snorting of a dog, I went back
response, I wandered back across the courtyard to a
inside. The harmless creature, sleeping noisily in a
room where a few people were having lunch around
padded vest, had the air of an aging man who has
a huge table. “Have you eaten yet?” Weiwei’s wife, Lu
experienced many vicissitudes. The cleaning lady
Qing, asked.3 I shook my head, and she went to get
who was mopping the floor said that if Weiwei went
me some rice. On the table were a bowl of shredded
out in the afternoon he usually didn’t return until late
dry tofu, a plate of sautéed vegetables and a dish
at night. However, he got up around 7:30 a.m. I was
of fried shrimp with ginger and scallions. Nobody
surprised. Most artists in China are night owls and
asked who I was or why I had come. Evidently, anyone
always wake up around noon. The next day, when I
who manages to visit Weiwei is treated as a guest
arrived at Weiwei’s home at 8:45 a.m., his associates
and invited to eat at mealtime. Weiwei ambled in.
were already in front of their computers working.
According to reports, he lost almost 30 pounds
Weiwei was busy dealing with paperwork, phone calls
during his three-month detention last spring. Now
and quick meetings. He took a short break and talked
he seemed to have gained half the weight back. He
to me in the dining room.
looked stronger and more energetic than he did in pictures and TV clips at the time of his release. After his brief lunch, he had to go out of the compound to attend to business. I went to sit at the garden table, nibbling sweet jujubes and looking at the persimmon trees on the other side of the lawn. The worker who was removing animal droppings told me that the persimmons would be ripe in one or two weeks, but nobody would pick them. The ripe fruit would eventually drop on the grass. Later, my curiosity
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J.J. Camille
Ai Weiwei
You’re so busy.
Yes. It’s like this every day. Now that I can’t go abroad for my exhibitions, there is even more work to do. I have to arrange details and make sure everything will be all right.
J.J. Camille
Yet I see you’re not as glued to your computer and iPhone as you used to be. Until recently, you really enjoyed blogging and tweeting your photos, ideas and critiques throughout the day. Now that you cannot do that, though you can still browse the Internet, do you feel like you’ve been forced back to the period of the ’80s, when there were no personal computers in China, when artworks couldn’t be shown to the audience right away and get an immediate response?
Ai Weiwei
Having used the computer the way I did before, I now feel I am forced back not to the ’80s but to the Stone Age. The current rules are more like harassment than real restrictions. They could affect my family, friends and colleagues if I’m not careful. However, new restrictions create new possibilities. I don’t think anyone can stop freedom of expression. They can restrict some kinds of behavior, but they can’t restrict one’s desire to express oneself.
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J.J. Camille
Ai Weiwei
How are you coping with the situation?
There is always going to be some limitation, good or bad. Under any kind of regulation, an artist can always find his creative space. Creativity itself grows out of a restricted condition. I don’t regard limitation strictly as a negative. When one is denied an immediate sharing of artwork and public commentary, the silenced voice becomes another kind of creative form. Silence itself has its own critical force.
J.J. Camille
I guess you must have foreseen this turn of events?
Ai Weiwei
the outside world is always changing. As an artist, I have to be able to adapt to any limitation and find an effective new way to express myself.
J.J. Camille
Do you plan to work in some more traditional art form, since you’re no longer allowed to do what you used to do?
Ai Weiwei
My work is always related to aspects of real life. It doesn’t necessarily have to be painting, sculpture or even installation. Our conversation could be called a form of art.
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J.J. Camille
Ai Weiwei
J.J. Camille
Are you working on any new projects?
At the moment, I’m doing a lot of thinking and writing.
Well, I hope we visitors leave you enough time. Some people, especially in China, say that contemporary art is too self-indulgent, too abstract and conceptual, but you plunge into common people’s real life, especially their problems, and try to have a direct effect.
Ai Weiwei
First of all, I’m a human being, with a right to live as I wish and to express myself. While I have my own individuality and uniqueness, I also share, obviously, general emotional characteristics with others. I try to reflect both points of view, hoping to convey my personal desires and, at the same time, the actual crisis in reality.
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J.J. Camille
You’ve succeeded in that. Your words and actions have reached an incredibly broad audience and exerted a powerful influence on the world.
Ai Weiwei
I think an artist’s work sets its own condition. It redefines us and our sociopolitical situation. I always seek to protect freedom of expression. That doesn’t mean that we can achieve total freedom; we have to face reality, to deal with restrictions. Yes, I try to share my work and communicate with a broader audience, especially people who are not familiar with art, who have never even heard the word “art” in their lives. I believe art is for people who have sensitivity and imagination, not just for museum professionals, dealers and critics. Art history has to be rewritten by people who can give it new definitions.
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In the evening of 11 January 2011, Ai’s studio was demolished in a surprise move by the local government.
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Freedom is a pretty strange thing. Once you’ve experienced it, it remains in your heart, and no one can take it away. Then, as an individual, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
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活者 to live
者
死亡 to die
说 诚实 to be true
说谎 实 to lie
衰 活泼 To be lively
衰变 泼 to decay
喜爱 离 to love
爱 离弃 to be forsaken
明智 to be wise
愚笨 智 to be idiotic
微笑 受 to smile
笑 受辱 to be humiliated
to celebrate
庆祝
声讨 祝 To denounce
勇敢 To be more courageous
敢 惊慌 to be more fearful
行动 to take action
洗脑 to be brainwashed
自由 拘 to be free
由 拘留 to be detained
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INDEX Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
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selected bibliography
Edward Wong Dissident Chinese Artist Is Released The New York Times, June 22, 2011 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/world/ asia/23artist.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Barnaby Martin Hanging Man The Arrest of Ai Weiwei Faber and Faber, Inc.
Larry Warsh Weiwei-isms Princeton University Press Princeton & Oxford
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Documentary Film Directed by Alison Klayman Expression United Media in association with MUSE Film and Television, 2012.
Ai Weiwei Twitter Feed: @aiww https://twitter.com/aiww
Ai Weiwei Ai Weiwei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006—2009. Translated by Lee Ambrozy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2011.
Ai Weiwei “Our Duty Is to Remember Sichuan.” Guardian, May 25, 2009 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/ may/25/china-earthquake-cover-up
Ai Weiwei “To Live Your Life in Fear Is Worse Than Losing Your Freedom.” Guardian, June 21, 2012 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/ jun/21/ai-weiwei-living-life-fear-freedom
Ai Weiwei “Who Is Ai Weiwei?” Artinfo, Aug 11, 2009 http://blogs.artinfo.com/artintheair/tag/ai-weiwei Ai Weiwei “You’re There but You’re Not Existing.” Interview by Jian Ghomeshi Q, CBC Radio, Canada
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J.J. Camille At Home with Ai Weiwei Art in America | Jan. 2012 http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/magazine/at-home-with-ai-weiwei/
Garth Clark Dropping The Urn Art Asia Pacific | Sep. / Oct. 2010 http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/70/AiWeiweiDroppingTheUrnCeramicWorks5000BCE2010CE
Katherine Grube Ai Weiwei challenges China’s Government Over Earthquake Art Asia Pacific | Jul. / Aug. 2009 http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/64/AiWeiweiChallengesChinasGovernmentOverEarthquake
John Jervis Sunflower Seeds Art Asia Pacific | Mar. / Apr. 2011 http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/72/SunflowerSeedsAiWeiwei
Katherine Grube Ai Continues Activism Against China; Government Responds Art Asia Pacific | Sep. / Oct. 2009 http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/65/BeijingAiContinuesActivismAgainstChinaGovernmentResponds
Katherine Grube Ai Weiwei Hospitalized After Beating by Chinese Police Art Asia Pacific | Nov. / Dec. 2009 http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/66/AiWeiweiHospitalizedAfterBeatingByChinesePolice
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selected works
Gao Yuan Portrait of Ai Weiwei. Cover
Fake, Wu http://www.flickr.com/photos/winterkanal/sets Crossing Streets p. 2—3 Through The Beam p. 4—5 Flagstone Walk p. 6—7 Light p. 8—9 Beam p. 10—11
Ai Weiwei Music Video for Dumbass 2013 p. 13—14
Colored Vases (2006) Vases from the Neolithic age (5000 - 3000 BCE) and industrial paint; between 10” x diameter 9” and 14 1/2” x diameter 9 1/2”. Courtesy AW Asia collection, New York. p. 44—45
Coca Cola Vase (1997). Vase from Neolithic Age (5000 – 3000 BCE) and paint, 11 7/8” x diameter 13”. Courtesy Tsai Collection, New York. p. 46—47
The Unilever Series: Ai Weiwei: Sunflower Seeds Tate Modern: Exhibition 12 October 2010 — 2 May 2011. p. 51—64
Ai Weiwei Sichuan Earthquake. 2008. p. 67—70 Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Documentary Film Directed by Alison Klayman Expression United Media in association with MUSE Film and Television, 2012. p. 20—33
Ai Weiwei Straight (2008-12). Installation view at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, 2012. Via Hirshhorn. p. 80—81
Ai Weiwei Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn, 1995. p. 35—37
(Making of) Colored Vases (2006). Single channel video, 13 minutes, 09 seconds. Courtesy Ai Weiwei, Beijing. p. 42—43
Ai Weiwei Remembering, backpacks, Haus der Kunst,* Munich, 2009 p. 96—97
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Ai Weiwei Study of Perspective - Eiffel Tower Study of Perspective - Hong Kong Study of Perspective - Mona Lisa Study of Perspective - San Marco Study of Perspective - Tiananmen Square Study of Perspective - White House p. 99—106
Ai Weiwei June 1994, 1994 C-print 117.5 x 152 cm p. 112—113
AP photos of Ai Weiwei’s return home BREAKING: Ai Weiwei Released on Bail Hyperallergic http://hyperallergic.com/27635/breaking-ai-weiweireleased-on-bail/
Li Shi Xing, Andrea Giannotti Grey Brick Galleries, Red Brick Galleries, Three Shadows Photographic Centre by Ai Weiwei at Cao Chang Di, Beijing p. 165—170
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry Documentary Film Directed by Alison Klayman Expression United Media in association with MUSE Film and Television, 2012. p. 115—145
Ai Weiwei S.A.C.R.E.D. 2011-2013. Photo: Artist and Lisson Gallery p. 149—155
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credits
Book designed and edited by Justin Chen Art Center College of Design Advanced Graphics Studio Instructed by Brad Bartlett Fall 2013
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