Ai at the Asia Society

Allen Ginsberg, Bluefields, Nicaragua, 1986

Ai Weiwei's New York years, the early 80s, documented and on view in an exhibition of his photographs at the Asia Society.

Well worth a look too, Ai at the Allen Ginsberg Project.

A photograph of Allen Ginsberg, January 1986, Bluefields, Nicaragua (1986 being one of the years during which Ai lived in New York and knew Ginsberg).

Way? Weiwei!

In a surprising move, China has released Ai Weiwei.

Asserting that Ai had confessed to "tax evasion" and has promised to pay what he allegedly owes, and suggesting also that an unnamed health condition that Ai suffers from contributed to the decision, the Chinese authorities freed Ai last week. Further, four of Ai's associates (his driver, accountant, studio assistant and designer), detained at the same time,  have now also been released.

China, not known for its impartial justice system nor its lenience in handling so-called 'dissidents' and perceived enemies of the state, insists the releases did not come as a result of international pressure (as many of those who contributed to that pressure following Ai's detention aver). According to Chinese officials, China's "judicial sovereignty" was never at stake.

Regardless of why the decision to release Ai and his associates was made, the huge international uproar at his detention some three months ago certainly took China by surprise.

Ai's future is uncertain, however. He has been barred from using social media, he cannot discuss his case with the media or comment on it in any way, and he cannot travel abroad. So while he is no longer physically incarcerated, it remains to be seen to what extent China manages to control his Art.

In addition, as Britian's The Independent points out, it's important that the west remembers "... the other 1,426 individuals known to be languishing in Chinese jails for political or religious reasons." The international furor over Ai's detention was an admirable and sustained response but, the paper warns, those concerned for China's other dissidents cannot become complacent.

Jerome A. Cohen, writing in the Wall Street Journal, condemns the Chinese judicial system and states that "This was no ordinary tax case but a politically motivated investigation designed to silence an increasingly popular critic."

(Stencil image from the Drains to Bay Stencil Gallery)

Ai Zodiac Heads

No sign of Ai Weiwei yet. Two months now, almost. He's disappeared into the Chinese gulag. It's important to keep manifesting energy toward his safety and his ultimate freedom.

Today, the New York Times writes about the unveiling of his twelve Chinese zodiac heads outside the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan.

Free Ai Weiwei!

Rushdie for Ai

Salman Rushdie, whose article in the Telegraph calls on the Chinese government to release Ai Weiwei, knows from first hand experience what it's like to be persecuted for one's art. His article raises other cases of authors and writers disappearing into the Chinese security apparatus and posits gloom for the future of free expression in China.

The lives of artists are more fragile than their creations. The poet Ovid was exiled by Augustus Caesar to a little hell-hole on the Black Sea called Tomis. He spent the rest of his days begging to be allowed to return to Rome. So Ovid’s life was blighted. But the poetry of Ovid has outlasted the Roman Empire. The poet Mandelstam was murdered by Stalin’s executioners, but the poetry of Mandelstam has outlived the Soviet Union. The poet Lorca was killed by the thugs of Spain’s Generalissimo Franco, but the poetry of Lorca has outlived Franco’s tyrannical regime. We can perhaps bet on art to win over tyrants. It is the world’s artists, particularly those courageous enough to stand up against authoritarianism, for whom we need to be concerned, and for whose safety we must fight.

~ Salman Rushdie, 2011

Ai On Point

This is an interesting On Point radio show with Tom Ashbrook on Ai Weiwei and the current crackdown on dissent in China (from 4/11/11). The Chinese authoritarians are keeping a tight reign on any form of opposition. They're afraid that what has happened in the Middle East could happen there. Perhaps they intrinsically realize that their oppressive policies toward personal liberties might be cause for resistance.

Ai WeiWei

Blackjack and Ai

In an interesting development, it turns out that the blackjack-playing community knows Ai Weiwei as one of its own and is expressing its displeasure at Ai's detention in China.

Since his disappearance the news has spread among the international blackjack community, who know WeiWei betters as a top notch blackjack player rather than a world renowned artist or a human rights activist. There are currently talks between multiple casino insiders to hold a series of fund raising blackjack and poker tournaments to lobby the US government to impose trade restrictions against China unless Mr. Ai WeiWei is released.

Solidarity sustains community.

Ai Weiwei Global

When was the last time an artist commanded this much attention on an international scale? Ai Weiwei has still not been heard from or released, and China is indignant at the world's outcry of protest. Why the fuss for one lowly criminal? seems to approximate the Party line .

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei says Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is a suspected criminal and foreign support for him has confused and angered the Chinese people. (article)

Blaming "foreign support" is the indefatigable accusation made by unwanted, corrupt, and despicable regimes of repression the world over. It's always "foreigners" fomenting uprising and revolution, it couldn't possibly be that people are sick and tired of living under the ruthlessly dangerous rule of megalomaniacs.

Instead of persecuting artists of Ai's stature and global awareness (instead of persecuting artists of any stature!), we as civilized nations should celebrate artists.

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Interesting related material:

Allen Ginsberg knew Ai Weiwei in the 1980s when Ai lived in New York City.

The New Yorker has published a profile of Ai in the past and blog entries by Evan Osnos continue to inform on Ai's situation and fate.

Ai Weiwei

Two images from Ai Weiwei's "Finger" Series.

White House

Eiffel Tower

His Sunflower Seed installation at the Tate Modern in London last year captivated and astonished. Read Adrian Searle's essay on the show in the Guardian (Oct, 2010).

Numerous international media articles, like this one from Aljazeera, report that the artist was detained by Chinese authorities on Sunday, April 3rd at the Beijing International Airport as he was boarding a flight to Hong Kong. Later, his studio was raided by police. He has not been seen or heard from since.

Call the Chinese Embassy in D.C. and demand that Ai Weiwei be released from detention - (202) 495-2266

Dollars Against the Wars, Frame #9

Today's post is in honor of Ai Weiwei, an artist of grand scale and prodigious energy, an artist who has unfortunately been detained by the Chinese authorities and whose exact whereabouts at this moment are unknown. See a short slide show of images from the New York Times here.

Meanwhile, the wars go on and these three domestic dollars cycle in and out of hands and pockets and cash registers.

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Dollars Against the Wars

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