Ai WeiweiRezensionen

graphic nonfiction; autobiographical essays neatly organized in order of the Chinese zodiac -- each animal imparting a tone or lesson to that segment.

not so much a biography/memoir but an interesting chance to hear the artist's perspective. Constantini's black and white line drawing illustrations are also very skilled.

Psychological

Een autobiografie die begint met een biografie van de vader van Ai Weiwei.
Daarmee geeft het boek een goed overzicht van het wel en wee sinds de CCP-dictatuur aan de macht kwam.

Het actievoeren en de conflicten met het autoritair regime van de kunstenaar Ai Weiwei heeft veel gelijkenissen met wat A. Zinovjev meemaakte in de Sovjetunie. Beiden kregen tenslotte asiel in Duitsland.

gave a deep understanding with forces.

Artist Ai Weiwei writes a dual memoir of his father and himself. His father, Ai Qing, was a well-known poet and friend of Pablo Neruda, but during the Cultural Revolution he was put in a camp and treated poorly because the state deemed his poetry anti-Communist. Ai Weiwei, in parallel, is an outspoken artist who found an internet following on Twitter and constantly challenges the status quo. This, too, got him into trouble with the authoritarian state, and he draws parallels between himself and his father and writes about his commitment to art and free expression.

Towards the end of the memoir, Ai Weiwei explains his reason for writing:

"So the idea came to me that if I was released, to bridge the gap between us, I should write down what I knew of my father and tell my son honestly who I am, what life means to me, why freedom is so precious, and why autocracy fears art. I hoped that my convictions could become something he could see and feel in his heart and mind. That way, if one day Ai Lao [his son] wanted to know more, it would be there–my own story, and his grandfather’s."

He does exactly what he sets out to do. The form of the book is nearly evenly split between his father's story and his. Sometimes the timeline in his father's story was a little hard for me to follow, because Ai Weiwei would move forward and back, mostly telling it in chronological order but then referring to something in the future that I wasn't familiar with before picking up the thread. Throughout both men's stories, he reflects on art - and a lot of his thoughts could apply to Art as a whole, including writing - and its meaning to him. I was unfamiliar with his art prior to picking up the memoir, but I found that half of the book especially interesting. Photographs and sketches accompany the text and provide context for the art exhibitions he describes, and now I want to see if I can find at least one of the documentaries he created. He gives a lot of background to his thought process behind his works, and insists that art is always changing and doesn't mean one thing. A book that would equally interest readers of Chinese history and art history.

This is the memoir of Ai Weiwei, a famous Chinese conceptual artist, architect and activist. Although Ai Weiwei has struggled determinately and consistency against the censorship and other oppressions of the current Communist Chinese regime, and has presented his conceptual art in major exhibitions and museums around the world, this is the rare memoir in which the portrayal of the author's childhood is actually more interesting (or at least that was my reaction) than the portrayal of his or her adulthood. That's because Ai Weiwei's father, Ai Qing, was also famous, a world renowned lyric poet, who was targeted and harshly oppressed by the forces of Mao's Cultural Revolution. In approximately the first half of his memoir, Ai Weiwei relates his time as a child, moving with his father and his half-brother from one remote and desolate punishment outpost to another, with only intermittent contact with his mother. From his father's early comradeship with Mao, through the descriptions of these horrible work settlements and Ai Qing's day to day degrading humiliations as a "Big Rightist" who is made an example of on an hourly basis, Ai Weiwei walks us through the events and repercussions of the Cultural Revolution and describes the profound loss of history and Chinese cultural identity that resulted.

Oddly, though, once Ai Weiwei grows to adulthood and, especially, once he becomes a noted artist and activist, the narrative flattened out for me. Perhaps some of this has to do with the translation from Chinese to English. Ai Weiwei certainly has led a fascinating and, it seems, a quite admirable life. His conceptual art installations have been aimed at promoting ideas of freedom and individuality, of protesting against the harshness and absurdity of the repression of the Communist regime, and of pointing out the regime's corruption and ineptitude as they steer the country toward capitalism under the guise of communism. One of the issues for me, as I think back on the reading experience, is that Ai Weiwei often presents his own activities in isolation, as if he were the only activist in China. Occasionally other names are mentioned, but I found it off-putting that so much of Ai Weiwei's narrative consisted of statements along the lines of "I created this work in order to say that." Well, it's a memoir, so of course he'd be talking about his own accomplishments, but he seemed to me to be entirely self-focused. With a few exceptions, the entirely of Chinese history during the time under discussion seemed to me to be focused through the lens of his own perspective.

An example of this is Ai Weiwei's description of his discovery of the Internet, and of the beginnings of his life as a blogger with many thousands of followers. There are overstatements like "Every character that I tapped on my keyboard was emblematic of a new kind of freedom." (Again, maybe this is a translation issue.) The next sentence, I'm sure, rang true at the time, though seems less assuredly true by this point: "Buy enabling alternative voices, the internet weakened the power of autocracy, dispelling the obstacles it tried to put in the individual's way." That second sentence and another that follows soon after ("On the internet, social coercion is nullified and the individual acquires a kind of weightlessness, no longer subordinate to the power structure.") made me nostalgic for the early days of the online world, when we still thought such things were unmistakably true. And was Ai Weiwei the only activist blogger at this time? I don't know, but from this memoir, you'd think so.

One more example of this sort of thing: In his role as an architect, Ai Weiwei had an active role in the designing of the stadium (referred to by Ai Weiwei as "the Bird's Nest") to be used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The description of the teamwork and creative process in this work was very interesting. But Ai's final comments on the endeavor had me scratching my head:

"The design of the Bird's Nest aimed to convey the message that freedom was possible: the integration of its external appearance whites exposed structure encapsulated something essential about democracy transparency, and equity. In defense of those principles, I now resolved to put a distance between myself and the Olympics, which were simply serving as nationalistic, self-congratulatory propaganda. Freedom is the precondition for fairness, and without freedom, competition is a sham."

I found Ai Weiwei's assumption that any more than a slight handful of observers would notice a message of freedom in the design of a stadium to be unfortunately self-absorbed, and his shock that the Chinese government was using the Olympics as a propaganda tool, despite the artistic splendor of the stadium design, to be more than a little disengenuous.

Ai Weiwei's personal relationships get more or less short shrift. I understand that his focus here was on his artistic and political accomplishments and on exposing conditions in China, but no matter how reasonable the intent, the result for me was a memoir somewhat drained of dimension and empathy.

I have waited much too long to say that Ai Weiwei is clearly a man of courage who has inspired a great many of his internet followers, and admirers of his art, to maintain a resistant attitude toward the oppression of the Chinese regime. He has done so despite the constant threat to his own freedom, even to his life. In this, we has clearly been inspired by his father's example. Also, I have a lot of respect for conceptual artists, those who attempt to challenge our preconceived notions of reality, life and politics through their work. Ai Weiwei's output, and the degree to which he is clearly admired and respected by other artists and curators, speaks volumes about the value of his accomplishments. Many of the installations and exhibits Ai Weiwei describes sound like works I would love to see and experience, and there's quite a lot of interest in the memoir about the creative process in general. And as a tour through Chinese history from the end of World War 2 through the present day, and as a close-in look at the threats, oppressions and dangers experienced by artists fighting to stay relevant within oppressive regimes, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows is a valuable narrative and testimony.½

My best friend is an artist, and when she showed me the draft of a memoir she'd written, I was outraged - "Wait, you're an artist AND a writer? No fair!". My response to this memoir of Ai Weiwei is the same: we know of his skill as an artist and his political struggles against the Chinese government, but he’s also an incredibly skilled writer. The memoir begins with the exile of Ai Weiwei’s father, the renowned poet Ai Qing, to the Chinese equivalent of Siberia, along with his two sons. Ai Qing was a political prisoner who suffered greatly under Mao’s administration. Although they lived side-by-side in a freezing dugout, Ai Weiwei never spoke with his father about his punishment, nor about the regime that caused so much suffering for those who were considered to be elites. As Ai Weiwei’s own talent in architecture and in conceptual art became recognized, he was able to leave China and travel to the US and to Europe, and, while enjoying his freedom from constant observation and harassment, he was always drawn back to China. Eventually he was done in by his outspoken rebellion on social media, and was also imprisoned and banned from the internet and from participating in Chinese and international exhibits. He now lives in England. His métier is Dada and his idol is Marcel Duchamp. Ai Weiwei is a true anarchist, dedicated only to his son and his artistic spirit, and permanently contemptuous of any regime that represses the spirit of its citizens. His memoir is a powerful outcry against the rigidity of modern Chinese society.

Quotes: “Memories were a burden, and it was best to be done with them.”

“I felt an aversion to all the norms and premises that others never thought to challenge, and this kept me in an almost permanent state of tension.”

“Violence, so deeply rooted in American life that you could never escape it, reflected the profound flaws built into the country’s social fabric.”

“By the very absence of explicit guidance from my father, a spiritual connection was forged between us; he, in his way, protected me.”

“Then, as now, I seemed to have, however childishly, an instinctive resistance toward cultural authority.”

“When Chinese are abroad, they love nothing more than getting together with people they know – even being with people they don’t like is better than being by themselves! This sense of insecurity when alone stems from the lack of basic guarantees in Chinese society – kinship and bonds of affection are what you count on for protection.”

“Inherent ideas and frameworks left me dissatisfied. When you break away from mandated meaning, you enter a state of tension with your surroundings, and it is then, when you are uncomfortable, that you are at your most alert.”

“Limitations come only from a fear inside the heart, and art is the antidote to fear.”

We live in a time when things have taken a noticeable turn for the longer and shorter at the same time. In the explosion of blogging and numerous other forms of online publication, people have greater access than ever before to make their voices heard and at great length. Yet, at the same time, outlets like Facebook and Twitter especially, direct their users to hone their message down, purify it to the most crystallized form before sending it out to the world. Sometimes this makes for completely inane and paltry statements about someone’s present moment of self-reflection, but there are a few out there who can use this strategy to pinpoint their message into weapons of the wordsmith. Those people are dangerous. Those people can change minds.

Oh, and it helps to be an internationally well-known artist and dissident to boot.

Weiwei-isms by Ai Weiwei is a sorted and well laid out collection of sayings and statements from one of the most publicly attacked and endangered voices in modern day China. In 2008 he was publicly lauded by his home country for the design of the famous Bird’s Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics, yet in the same year became a harshly silenced critic in the aftermath of the deadly Sichuan earthquake. Weiwei created his own citizen’s council that investigated shoddy school building construction which helped lead to the deaths of over five thousand school children in the affected areas.

It was events like that and others that pushed Weiwei further into the world of human rights advocacy and the ongoing withering attacks against the ruling Chinese government. This book becomes not only a collection of his most pertinent political statements, but also of topics like freedom of expression, art and activism, the digital world and more. One of my personal favorites hits right off the bat on page one: “Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.” If only everyone in took that to heart.

Physically Weiwei-isms is a black, small hardbound book, fitting nicely into a jacket pocket and meant to be carried around, perused at chance moments and ruminated on. It knowingly bears a resemblance to the little red books that were given out by Chairman Mao in order to popularize his philosophies to his subjects. Yet, brainwashing is not the dastardly attempt of the author this time; it is more akin to brain-widening. Take a look for yourself. I feel safe in saying that some statement, one of his turns of phrase, will hit you like a punch in the gut, likely leaving an emotional bruise that will take great time and thought to recover from.

Conversation by/with Ai Weiwei is an eye-opening exploration of the artist and the person. These largely take the form of questions and answers but there is an informal feel to much of it that promotes a sense of openness and honesty.

While I know of Ai Weiwei, and had seen a couple of his works (online), I didn't really know anything about him. I wasn't sure whether this was the format for me to learn about him but it seemed like as good a first step as any. Turns out he is the type of person who will answer pretty much any question as well as he can, so I was richly rewarded with this book. I did do a quick online check so I wouldn't go into the conversations completely ignorant and it did help a little, but I think I would have been just as pleased had I simply started reading.

I read one conversation/interview a day, partly because this type of format lends itself to such a reading and partly because interviews can often cover the same or similar ground so I didn't want to feel like I was rereading something. Turns out that even when some of the same ground was covered he managed to find different paths into the topic, so it wasn't as repetitive as it could have been.

I came away with both a deep appreciation of the man and a desire to learn more about his art and activism. This book should appeal to most readers with an interest in art and/or activism. It will also be an interesting read no matter how much you already know, or don't know, about Ai Weiwei.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

From 1999 till the present, either through collaboration or as a sole designer, Ai Weiwei has completed 76 architectural dersigns. Contained within, is a selection of 23 projects, each represented in postcard format.

In this wonderful little book Crawshaw - veteran journalist and human rights campaigner - outlines ways we can make a stand and protest injustice and repression, along with examples to illustrate those that have done just that. He shows that art, humour and absurdist can all be effective weapons against tyrants or even unresponsive democratic governments, if coupled with determination.


He often doesn't follow through with the medium term results, and acknowledges that change can be a long time coming, but this - along with the voluminous bibliography - is a great resource, and source of optimism for those determined to improve the world.


The one potential sour note, given the lack of follow up and in light of subsequent events, is the inclusion of Aung Yang Su Kyi's release from imprisonment and electoral victory. I'm sure the author struggled with both the inclusion and lack of further analysis however I think this had to be included, especially considering his own involvement.


Highly recommended.

Recent work of one of China's most important and outspoken contemporary artists is featured in this book. One of China's most controversial artists, Ai Weiwei is also one of the world's most prominent critics of the Chinese government. A critic of China's handling of such matters as the 2008 Olympic Games, and the tragedy of the 2008 earthquake, Ai Weiwei brings questions about tradition, history, modernity, and change to his works of sculpture, architecture, photography and his blog texts. This attractive volume includes images of Ai Weiwei's acclaimed Fairytale installation for the 2007 Documenta in Kassel, German, as well as illustrations of his furniture and woodwork, teapots and vases, video stills and his recent works for the exhibition at the Haus der Kunst in Munich. These include Remembering, an installation at the front facade at the Haus der Kunst with backpacks, which commemorates the Sichuan Earthquake and the thousands of children who died in their schools then. Other works are Soft Ground and Rooted Upon. In addition to illustrations of Ai Weiwei's three-dimensional work, there are numerous photographs, images of installations in situ, and blog entries and poems by the artist.

*eARC Netgalley*

In 2006, even though he could barely type, China's most famous artist started blogging. For more than three years, Ai Weiwei turned out a steady stream of scathing social commentary, criticism of government policy, thoughts on art and architecture, and autobiographical writings. He wrote about the Sichuan earthquake (and posted a list of the schoolchildren who died because of the government's "tofu-dregs engineering"), reminisced about Andy Warhol and the East Village art scene, described the irony of being investigated for "fraud" by the Ministry of Public Security, made a modest proposal for tax collection. Then, on June 1, 2009, Chinese authorities shut down the blog. This book offers a collection of Ai's notorious online writings translated into English--the most complete, public documentation of the original Chinese blog available in any language. The New York Times called Ai "a figure of Warholian celebrity." He is a leading figure on the international art scene, a regular in museums and biennials, but in China he is a manifold and controversial presence: artist, architect, curator, social critic, justice-seeker. He was a consultant on the design of the famous "Bird's Nest" stadium but called for an Olympic boycott; he received a Chinese Contemporary Art "lifetime achievement award" in 2008 but was beaten by the police in connection with his "citizen investigation" of earthquake casualties in 2009. Ai Weiwei's Blog documents Ai's passion, his genius, his hubris, his righteous anger, and his vision for China.

One can see why the Chinese government hates Ai Weiwei. The artful criticism he posted on his blog over more than three years until the government shut it down, like his political art, is relentlessly honest. He pulled no punches, and he did so under a very real threat of imprisonment (as we recently saw) or worse; this makes the "bravery" of American ranters seem just a little less impressive. There is a quotable line, an inspiration, an insight, a belly laugh—rueful, for the most part—on every page. Ai Weiwei is a hero of our time. Kudos to MIT Press for making Ai Weiwei's Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009 available to anglophone readers.