Ai Weiwei, Watermelon, 2006.
Image courtesy the artist and Lisson Gallery.
28th February 2012
Reblogged From cmonstah
Notes: 14
tasj competition time! Visit our Facebook page, leave a comment with your favorite Ai Weiwei quote from the choices in this image (page 31 of the current issue of tasj) and you’ll be in the running to win a little Weiwei-themed prize pack! Winner will be notified on Friday.
From the tasj toolkit:
Ai Weiwei “Never Sorry” Set of 10 Pins
www.aiweiweineversorry.com
tasj CELEBRATE: Sundance 2012
Cover artist: Ai Weiwei
Subscribe at www.theartstreetjournal.com.
Saw the world premiere of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, Alison Klayman’s documentary on the current tasj cover artist this morning!
I’ve listed the rest of the screenings below in case you’re here at Sundance, too, and want to try to catch one! We’ll be at them all to pass out copies of tasj, so maybe see you there!
Screenings:
(Note - All are waitlist only if you don’t already have a ticket, but if you get there early, you should be able to get in.)
5:30 pm - 1/24/2012 - MARC - Park City
6:00 pm - 1/25/2012 - Salt Lake City Library - Salt Lake City
Noon - 1/26/2012 - Temple Theatre - Park City
Noon - 1/27/2012 - Screening Room - Sundance Resort
9:00 am - 1/28/2012 - Yarrow Hotel Theatre - Park City
Ai Weiwei’s Blog : Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009.
By Ai Weiwei | Edited and translated by Lee Ambrozy.
Published by MIT Press.
Available here.
“Art can be dangerous,” observes Salman Rushdie in a recent article for The New York Times that comments on the arrest of Ai Weiwei on April 4, 2011 and compares it to the treatment of artistic figures, past and present, who have met similar fates. This list counts such luminaries as Federico García Lorca, Liao Yiwu, Liu Xiaobo, Ye Du, Teng Biao, Liu Xianbin, Osip Mandelstam and Ovid.
As depressing, outrageous and terrifying as such a list may be, Rushdie also emphasizes that it is important to recognize that “the lives of artists are more fragile than their creations,” which have the capacity to rise above the authoritarianism, continue to push boundaries in their endeavors and even effect change.
Read Rushdie’s powerful article in full here.
Image: Ai Weiwei with his installation, Sunflower Seeds in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London on October 11, 2010.
(c) Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images. Via The New York Times.
I can’t wait to see Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, the very first feature length documentary on the artist, when it comes out later this year. It was produced and directed by Alison Klayman, who also made the documentary short Ai Weiwei: New York Photographs 1983-1993.
Check out this short trailer, then learn more about the film here.
Great BBC Documentary on Ai Weiwei by Hrag Vartanian
I highly recommend you watch all four parts of this recent BBC documentary about Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Ai Weiwei — Without Fear or Favor. It is fantastic and informative. Ai is one of the most important artists in the world today. If you don’t know who he is or his work that I suggest you find out right now.
I should’ve known that Shanghaiist had the real goods on the Ai Weiwei studio party. Great pics.
Wish I could have been there!
- Camera: Canon PowerShot SD1100 IS
- Aperture: f/2.8
- Exposure: 1/200th
- Focal Length: 37mm
As you know, Ai Weiwei is busy getting ready for his show at the Tate’s Turbine Hall, which opens this October and runs until May. We’re very excited about this exhibition and hope we can all make it out to London to check it out.
As he tours Europe, Mr. Ai generously agreed to a crowdsourced interview with Jennifer Ng, our language/culture editor at Bird’s Nest. Jennifer will take your questions and conduct the interview in English in Lucerne, with Mr. Ai answering in Mandarin. We will then upload the video, complete with translations, to our Tumblr.We invite you to ask Mr. Ai questions about his art, his life, contemporary China and any other topic you’ve wanted to ask. During the week of September 20-24, please send out a tweet using the hashtag #askaiww. We’ll collect those questions and compile them for his video interview. While we can’t promise, we’ll be able to ask every question, we’ll certainly do our best to cover as many as possible during the video interview.
If you have any questions for us, please feel free to tweet us or leave a comment below. Otherwise, look forward to seeing your questions on #askaiww!
So excited about his show this October! Hoping to visit it when I’m in London!
