New Curious Burghlar Site

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Ai Weiwei: Persisting to be Heard

Though I was inspired to write this post after seeing the documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, I have included information and events that have occurred since the documentary's release in 2012. Rather than a review of the documentary, this is a look into Ai Weiwei and those concerns that surround and envelop much of his work as an artist and many of his actions as an activist.

Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei adamantly defends his rights in a society suppressed by government control. He has not only created conceptual art that addresses political and human rights issues, but he has also utilized online writing outlets like a blog and Twitter to document both personal and societal injustices.

The 2012 documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry compiles footage from Alison Klayman's four years as a journalist living in China. She foremost captures Ai as an international artist and architect whose primary motivation is to achieve freedom of self-expression in China. He voices support for fellow human rights advocates like Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 while imprisoned for "subversion of state." This crime is undeniably common among Chinese who speak out for their own rights and, thereby, speak out against the government.

Three key conflicts between Ai and the government in the past five years sustain drama throughout the documentary: the Sichuan Earthquake Names Project, a physical attack on him that resulted in brain injury, and his detainment by authorities for 81 days. The government's censorship of its own people is at the heart of all three.

Government authorities shut down Ai's blog in May 2009, after he posted the names and birth dates of 5,212 schoolchildren who died in the collapse of poorly constructed government school buildings during the magnitude 7.9 earthquake of China's Sichuan Province. Activists Tan Zuoren and Xie Yuhui had already uncovered evidence that the government buildings fell far short of meeting construction standards. Tan was arrested after publishing his findings online; Ai's blog was merely shut down, as this article by Katherine Grube of ArtAsiaPacific Magazine outlines in more detail.

On August 12, 2009, Ai was supposed to testify at a trial in defense of Tan. Early that morning, however, police attacked Ai in his hotel room. One might assume that the attack was meant to prevent Ai from speaking at the trial, and it did. One month later, Ai was hospitalized with a brain injury that was most likely caused by the August 12 beating. See this article for further details on the incident.

So, Ai suffered infringement on his freedom of speech as well as cranial trauma. Although freedom of speech is protected under the Chinese constitution, government censorship combats it often, as described by the Council of Foreign Relations. This BBC News article also takes a peek into exploring just how online censorship in China works.

As Never Sorry emphasizes, Ai's efforts to improve human rights in China are being heard. Sadly, the Chinese government's attacks against him speak even louder. He has personally suffered for boldly and publicly confronting issues that weigh on the conscience of the Chinese people. In 2011, Ai was detained for 81 days by Beijing authorities for alleged tax evasion. His disappearance garnered a lot of media attention, and months after his release, supporters pitched in to help pay Ai's outrageous tax bill. His detention has since become the subject of a book released this year, Hanging Man: The Arrest of Ai Weiwei by Barnaby Martin as well as a play (based on the book) by Howard Brenton, entitled The Arrest of Ai Weiwei.

Although Never Sorry foremost documents Ai's political endeavors and the injustices he has faced as a result, Klayman also peers into Ai's personal life: Ai with his mother, Ai with his son, Ai in his studio, even Ai marveling at his cats. Klayman paints a well-rounded portrait of Ai, who revels in self-expression, who proclaims political frustration, and who executes his ideas through demonstration. His words reach millions of people through Twitter every day while his photos go viral 'round the worldwide web.

In an interview with Time magazine as one of the runners-up "Person of the Year" for 2011, Ai says his "first blog post was one sentence, something like 'To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.'" To this end, Ai's politically charged works like the Study of Perspective series (1995-2003) defy self-censorship.

Some writers label Ai as outspoken or find his antics to be over the top. Take his parody of Psy's hit "Gangnam Style," which, at over one million views, has the most views of Ai's YouTube videos. Importantly, Ai entitled his version "草泥马style." Translated into English, this title means "grass-mud horse." China Digital Times explains its intended and unique meaning as an anti-government term among Chinese internet users.

The significance that cannot be overlooked is that, with the worldwide platform that is the internet, Ai is being heard, and that is how he fights for people's right to self-expression in China. Never Sorry can be seen as an extension of Ai's activism, for it is an account by Klayman of Ai's experiences and his unrelenting efforts to be heard.


Here are a few more interesting reads regarding Ai Weiwei:

"Hong Kong Graffiti Challenges Chinese Artist's Arrest," Louisa Lim, NPR, 2011.

"Is Ai Weiwei China's Most Dangerous Man?" Mark Stevens, Smithsonian, 2012.

Ai Weiwei: According to What? Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 2012-2013.

"Whither Moral Courage?" Salman Rushdie, The New York Times, 2013.

Radiant Circles: Ruth E. Levine's Generous Life

October 23, 2012 - January 11, 2013

American Jewish Museum of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh (AJM)

This exhibit was the first to comprehensively represent the artistic career of the late Ruth E. Levine (1936-2010). Having moved to Pittsburgh from Washington, D.C. in 1998, she spent just over a decade here. In that time, the artistic community fully embraced her, and she exhibited at venues like the Carnegie Museum of Art, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Fe Gallery, and Gallerie Chiz. 

Her interests in literature and mathematics prominently mark her oeuvre. Interpreting her works requires uncovering exactly what her inspirations were. It's an inquisitive process.

At the AJM, text panels and an exhibition guide nicely led viewers through the exhibit by describing the ideas that were at the root of Levine's works.

Inukshuk, it was created to make the desolate land appear inhabited; 25.5 x 35 inches; oil pastel on slate.

In Inukshuk, Levine refers to stone landmarks that natives of the Arctic region of North America built and used for navigation. Slate - the perfect medium for it!

In Some Kingdom, 33.5 x 25 inches, colored pencil on handmade Japanese paper.

First in Italian, and then in English, individually stamped letters form a poem. I don't know the source of the poem, but it's just enough to sound like the start of a story. It makes me wonder... what comes next?

Once upon a time in some kingdom, in some country

      there lived

      a golden tiger

      a red pine tree

and a hunter in grey boots

The direct association between words and their visual representation makes this piece particularly intriguing. Repetition and pattern is evident throughout much of Levine's work. In this case, the poetry, spatial arrangement, and story/ line/ color repetition combine to create a beautiful cadence.

It's visually rhythmic because there is an auditory element to it. Poetry. The text gives off this subtle air of suspense, and following the colored lines (like reading) for the length of the composition makes me feel like the story does go on. I'm really fascinated with it.

Pattern Overload; 100 x 5.5 inches (opened); notebook with pencil, marking pen, and watercolor.

This book obviously portrays Levine's interest in patterns. Oh, the infinite possibilities for patterns!

As a whole, Radiant Circles: Ruth E. Levine's Generous Life demonstrates her experimentation with different shapes, colors, and media, as well as her personal interests, from geography in her State Series to anthropology in her Nabatean Intervals Series. This exhibit offered a lovely review of and caring look into Levine's artistic contributions.

Furthermore, beside certain artworks in the exhibit, wall texts with commentary from Levine's friends offered intimate perspectives on her life, increasing the impact the late artist could have on viewers. I'll conclude with the words of Adrienne Heinrich, who reflected on Levine's personality and artwork:

While in her presence, I always felt that I was being "cared for" and embraced by her totally. Her warmth for other people was so obvious. She made other people feel that they were important. She never drew attention to her own importance in her manner or in her dress, but always radiated warmth. It was a tremendous gift that she bestowed on others.

I see it in her work; the complete intellectual attention to the study of each subject of her concentration, her desire to know and to see. She stripped away non-essentials, getting to the heart of the message, without pretense, by thorough investigation literally and figuratively. There was no glamour in her presentation. It was honest and straightforward, the result of her deep interest in the subject.