![]() ![]() It is one thing to create art that skirts government censors through subtlety and ambiguity (as artists have done in repressed societies for centuries), and quite another to wear your politics on your sleeve (or your Twitter feed, in this case). ![]() In a culture where free-speech is suppressed, direct discourse has exceptional value-a value that Western society has largely forgotten in this age of political hyperbole, Internet blather, and ad speak. It is uncommon for a visual artist to privilege words over images, but that is precisely what Ai has done again and again over the course of his career. But still, the next morning, I heard the birds singing.” There were so many moments when I felt desperate and hopeless. Conditions were extreme, created by a system that thinks it is above the law and has become a kind of monstrous machine. “I am not unique it happened to many people in China. “The 81 days of detention were a nightmare,” Ai says in Weiwei-isms. He was sentenced to house arrest and prohibited from leaving Beijing for a year. When Ai finally was released from jail, he emerged from captivity thinner and visibly shaken. Creative Time’s “1001 Chairs for Ai Weiwei” asked artists to bring chairs to Chinese embassies and consulates around the world “to sit peacefully in support of the artist’s immediate release.” protested his detention and supporters around the world responded with a Free Ai Weiwei campaign that included protests in Hong Kong, Germany, and Taiwan, a Release Ai Weiwei sign atop the Tate Modern, and a 24-hour silent protest at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, where individuals sat in two Chinese chairs for one-hour periods in collective protest. It is impossible to fully grasp the political punch of Weiwei-isms without some knowledge of Mao’s own publication. By creating his own little black book of quotations, Ai is drawing a bold line in the sand and daring his government to cross it.Īnd that is exactly what the Chinese government did in April of 2011 when police arrested Ai at the Beijing airport and held him in an undisclosed location for 81 days without filing official charges.įriends and family were desperate for news. All units, in the industrial, commercial, agricultural, civil service, and military sectors, organized group sessions for the entire workforce to study the book during working hours.” The small, red volume frequently appeared in propaganda posters from the period, some of which I’ve collected here… The Little Red Book is reportedly one of the most printed books in history and at one point “was essentially an unofficial requirement for every Chinese citizen to own, to read, and to carry it at all times during the latter half of Mao’s rule, especially during the Cultural Revolution.”Īccording to Wikipedia, “studying the book was not only required in schools, but was also a standard practice in the workplace as well. Like Weiwei-isms, Mao’s book of quotations was also pocket-sized for easy reading. Weiwei-isms, published by Princeton University Press and designed by Pamela Schnitter with art direction by Maria Lindenfeldar, is brilliantly executed, and the high-quality paper and sewn binding are a pleasure to leaf through.Īi’s reference to Mao is important, for his book cleverly satirizes the Chairman’s infamous book of quotations, ironically referred to as the Little Red Book in the West. “All his quotations are within 140 words.” “Chairman Mao was the first in the world to use Twitter,” says Ai. This slim, pocket-sized volume compiles quotes made by Ai in interviews, in newspaper articles, on his blog, and via Twitter. But as Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s new book Weiwei-isms proves, small can be powerful. I didn’t expect a publication that has been touted as one of the “Best Art Books of 2012” to stand just six inches tall and contain only two photographs. ![]()
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