Ai Weiwei makes a bold statement in front of Tianamen Square with the F-word written on his chest. The artist has also given the same message in front of The White House and the Eiffel Tower.
If a true artist cannot fully express himself, can he still be called an artist? I’m not trying to be a quasi-philosopher here, but in terms of the recent detention of Ai Weiwei, the answer is yes!
Protestors surround Ai Weiwei's art studio after his detention. / Photo: Reuters / Carlos Barria.
The Chinese contemporary artist was detained on April 3 by Chinese officials at the Beijing airport before he boarded for Hong Kong.
The 53-year-old’s arrest for “economic crimes” is still unclear, but I’m sure this had to do with his outspoken criticism of the China Communist Party in the recent years. For many days, his whereabouts were unclear.
Article 35 of China’s constitution states, “Citizens of the People’s Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration.”
Is that practice being curtailed? Only those in denial would disagree.
Both Ai and recipient Xiaobo were MIA at the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at the Oslo City Hall in Norway on Dec. 10.
In December 2010, he was also prevented from attending the ceremony to award the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize to fellow dissident Liu Xiaobo.
Ai Weiwei, Forever Bicycles, 2003.
People and institutions like Los Angeles County Museum of Art have been passing around petitions to urge the activist’s release.
“We members of the international arts community express our concern for Ai’s freedom and disappointment in China’s reluctance to live up to its promise to nurture creativity and independent thought,” the LACMA petition read.
The artist, along with Swiss architectures, was a consultant of the bird's nest-shaped Beijing National Stadium.
Ai was the art consultant of the “Bird’s Nest” Beijing National Stadium of the 2008 Summer Olympics. He is, overall, a key component to a new social and cultural aspect of China. In fact, he is known to use the internet to communicate with the younger generation.
The brave artist is the type to push the envelope in order to get his message of the free flow of information. Hopefully this incident will bring his point across in extending freedom of speech to the Chinese people.
To sign a Change.org petition urging for the freedom of the artist, please go here.
Related Articles
Liu Xiaobo has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind. Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison, and is the fourth one to have received [...]
Timothy Watters‘ paintings will be displayed at Bang Gallery in downtown LA, 354 S Spring Street on Friday, July 23rd 2010. Getting to Timothy Watter’s house requires traversing some of the steepest mountain roads in Eagle Rock, that industrial-straddling burb of northern Los Angeles. It’s reminiscent of the sort of rare air that some artists [...]
Whenever I roll out all my makeup brushes, I’m always met with, “whoa, that’s legit,” and “dang, you’re pro.” That’s cause I am when it comes to applying my makeup. I’m not going to settle for any little old brushes found in the dinky cosmetic packs with the eyeshadow and lip gloss. But it sure [...]
Here in America, this past November 11 was Veterans Day, but in China, 11.11 has a completely different meaning. A celebration that first started as a way to comfort themselves for being single at various universities in Nanjing during 1990s, Singles Day is now a popular pop culture festival amongst young people in China. If [...]
When the clock finally read 6 pm, I leapt out of my swivel chair and skipped through the door. I jumped into the elevator and ran to the beige Sienna van where my family was waiting to take me to the airport. Farewell to the old 9-6 and hello to adventure, excitement and travel! As [...]
