Ai Weiwei – Never Sorry about Oppression

Ai Weiwei is “not just” a political artist

Ai Weiwei is certainly and rightly the most famous political artist at the moment, in the whole world and especially in our country, where the Chinese artist would love to stay if his homeland would finally grant him freedom of travel.

However, China refuses: While exhibition “Evidence”, which has been running at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin since the beginning of April 2014, is already on its way to becoming the “artistic crowd-pleaser of the year”, even intervening German politicians cannot ensure that Ai Weiwei is allowed to travel from China to his own exhibition in Berlin.

Moreover, Chinese censorship has struck again (April 2014): Shortly before the opening of a group exhibition celebrating the anniversary of the “Chinese Contemporary Art Award” in Shanghai, it was ordered that a work by Ai Weiwei be removed from the show. The exhibition organizers had to comply if the show was to be canceled; the name of Ai Weiwei, who had received the very same award in 2008, was redacted in the exhibition's history.

The fear of the Chinese rulers towards the artist fighting for democracy seems unbroken; Ai Weiwei will need staying power and much support from democratic forces for his political commitment (about which you can read more in the articles “Ai Weiwei – Art and Uprising of an Unyielding Man” and “Ai Weiwei – 'The Fake Case'” )

This support is a matter of course for every democratically minded person – however, what does not seem to be quite so self-evident these days is to perceive Ai Weiwei as an artist, independent of his political struggle.

It's so worthwhile to take a closer look at Ai Weiwei's work – the artist is practically bursting with creativity; his art is exciting and extraordinary, surprising and entertaining. Let yourself be intrigued by taking a look at some of Ai Weiwei's artworks.

Famous and remarkable art by Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei has a very comprehensive artistic background: He studied at the Beijing Film Academy and the Art Students League of New York, and also took courses at Parsons The New School for Design. These were many different influences that are reflected in Ai Weiwei's art – sometimes predictably, sometimes unpredictably.

In 1979, Ai Weiwei founded a Chinese artists' group with other Chinese free spirits that art according to state guidelines; from 1981 to 1993, Ai Weiwei created performance and conceptual art, Pop Art and Dada in the USA.

Back in China, he founded the "China Art Archives and Warehouse", a space in Beijing for experimental art. Ai Weiwei also created experimental art, refreshingly exciting and diverse, encompassing sculptures and design, architectural art and conceptual art, paintings and books, films and photographs.

Often with ingenious simplicity: From 2003 to 2005, Ai Weiwei simply filmed in Beijing's overcrowded streets, creating impressive images of the absolute powerlessness of "people in the dirt" and the failure of "blind city planners".

Often with a great deal of irony: In 2006, Ai Weiwei decorated a priceless, roughly 7,000-year-old Neolithic vase with a red Coca-Cola logo (“Coca-Cola Vase”), and shortly afterward, he coated 39 Neolithic vases (around 2,800 years old) with bright industrial paints (“Coloured Vases”). Why should individuals respect ancient cultural treasures if they are not valued in the slightest by greedy entrepreneurs?

In 2005, Ai Weiwei, together with Serge Spitzer, designed “Ghost Valley coming down the Mountain”, a large-scale and impressive installation consisting of 96 clay vases from the Yuan period (1269 to 1368), which were recreated in the old workshop in China, for the exhibition “Humanism in China”.

Since 2008, the “aiflowers – Respect Life, Never Forget” the children who lost their lives in the devastating earthquake in Sichuan on May 12, 2008. Ai Weiwei invites everyone who feels compassion to contribute a flower image to the website https://aiflowers.org ; the flowers continue to grow to this day.

In 2008, Ai Weiwei envisioned a dream city in the Mongolian desert, “Ordos 100,” in collaboration with the renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron: a place where rich and poor would live together, uniting ecology and economy. However, the dream was soon shattered when the main investor, an extremely wealthy Chinese man, disappeared before construction even began…

But at least the planned 100 villas have brought together 100 architects from 27 countries, contrary to the ongoing European debate about whether international architects should be allowed to work in China.

And Ai Weiwei is already becoming political again

There is simply no other way, even though Ai Weiwei is trying to contribute to a new beginning in his own country. For example, starting in 2002, Ai Weiwei participated in the design of the new Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics, only to distance himself from the project shortly before its opening.

The Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron were also hired for the stadium, which is also known as “Bird’s Nest” after the famous Chinese swallow ’s nest soup , after they won the international architecture competition together with Ai Weiwei in 2002.

Like the swallow's nest soup itself, one of the most expensive specialties of Chinese cuisine due to its elaborate preparation, the National Stadium also incurred costs that were completely disproportionate…

When the National Stadium was opened on April 18, 2008, it had cost around 3.5 billion yuan (325 million euros, with a massive cost overrun) to build and was considered megalomaniacal and inadequate by Ai Weiwei.

Shortly before the opening ceremony of the Games, Ai Weiwei therefore declined to participate. Here is Ai Weiwei's speech on the subject in German translation (available in English at theguardian.com), from Thursday, August 7, 2008:

Why I stayed away from the Olympic opening ceremony:
When I helped design Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium, I wanted it to represent freedom, not autocracy: China needs to change.

This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games. This is an extraordinary moment, one that China has dreamed of for 100 years. People have longed for this moment because it symbolizes a turning point in China's relationship with the rest of the world.

Under the watchful eyes of the world, China should merge into a greater whole, immersing itself in humanity. The world should suddenly feel smaller and closer. This should mean a great deal to our country, because we have fought to open up after decades of isolation.

Over the past 30 years, we have torn down barriers, opened doors and windows, been dazzled by sunshine, and felt the winds of profound change. We expected the Olympic Games to witness new heights of effort and hope, speed and strength that would inspire China to accelerate the pace of reform, to be more determined, bolder, and more at peace with itself.

To reach this point, China endured disasters, suffering, humiliation, and a darkness that left people feeling hopeless.

Nearly 60 years after the founding of the People's Republic, we still live under an autocratic government without universal suffrage. We have no free press, even though freedom of expression is worth more than life itself. Today is not the time to dwell on our problems, but we should also not listen to those who try to tell us these games are apolitical.

We live in a world where everything is politicized, but some people insist that the Olympic Games are different. They claim that these two weeks of sport are somehow detached from history and psychology, unconnected to theory and morality, and exist on a higher plane than ordinary human beings.

They argue that anyone who links the Games to politics has sinister motives, anti-Chinese sentiments. But the real reason they dislike political discussions is that any political discussion reminds Chinese citizens who is responsible for China's growing isolation from the rest of the world.

Today, China and the world will meet again. The people of China will realize that the planet is smaller today than at any other time in history, that humanity should say goodbye to arrogance and indifference, to ignorance and discrimination; they will understand that we all share the same small piece of land.

It could be a time when we rediscover ourselves, when we share the good things in life, when we look each other in the eye and hold hands. This vibrant festival is not just a time for celebration, but also for peace and friendship. To rediscover our future, we should say goodbye to our past.

We must bid farewell to autocracy. Whatever form it takes, whatever justification it seeks, authoritarian government always ends with a trampling on equality, a denial of justice, and the theft of people's happiness and laughter.

We must also overcome discrimination because it is narrow-minded and ignorant, because it denies connection and empathy; because it destroys people's belief that humanity can improve itself. The only way to avoid misunderstanding, war, and bloodshed is to defend freedom of expression and to communicate with sincerity, caution, and good intentions.

The “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, which I helped design, was conceived to embody the Olympic spirit of “fair competition.” It tells people that freedom is possible, but requires fairness, courage, and strength.

It is precisely on these principles that I will stay away from the opening ceremony, because I believe that freedom of choice is the foundation of fair competition. Freedom of choice is the right I value most. If we so choose, today can be a moment of courage, hope, and passion. This day will test our faith in the human race and our determination to build a better future

Art and combat continue

In 2009, Ai Weiwei also commemorated the child earthquake victims with the installation “Remembering”at the Haus der Kunst in Munich during the exhibition “So sorry”, using 9,000 children’s backpacks, a protest against the victims’ school building, which was presumably built far too lightly due to corruption.

In 2010, Ai Weiwei erected a four-ton rock on the Dachstein mountain in Styria for the “Hoher Dachstein” project, as a symbol of the tension between man and nature

In 2010/2011, “The Unilever Series: Sunflower Seeds” brought sunshine to the Tate Modern in London: On the floor of the former turbine hall, Ai Weiwei scattered “100 million” handmade porcelain sunflower seeds, which initially could be “walked on” by enthusiastic visitors (but soon no longer, as the abrasion was too severe).

In his 2011 work “Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads,” the legendary 12 zodiac heads crafted by European Jesuits at the court of a Chinese emperor in the 18th century. These heads were stolen in 1860, presumably by foreign companies. With his interpretation, Ai Weiwei aims to draw attention to the issues of forgery and copying, looting and restitution from a new perspective.

In 2011, Ai Weiwei published his blog, which had been shut down by the Chinese government in 2006, as a book—a unique and uniquely critical collection of texts on the “new China”: “Don’t Be Understandable About Me.” The Forbidden Blog. Edited by Lee Ambrozy. Galiani Verlag, Berlin 2011.

In 2012, the documentary film “Never Sorry’ For Exposing China’s Oppression” by Alison Klaymann was released, featuring excerpts from three years of Ai Weiwei’s life, including his arrest in 2011, with its German premiere at documenta 13.

In 2013, Ai Weiwei turned to heavy metal music as a form of protest, releasing the heavy metal single “Dumbass” , followed directly by the album “The Divine Comedy” in June. Ai Weiwei had a good reason why music became his new creative expression: the artist became a singer during his imprisonment because guards asked him to sing against the oppressive silence of solitary confinement, which even the guards found stifling.

At that time, Ai Weiwei only knew revolutionary songs; after his release, he quickly set about creating his own music… Ai Weiwei had the Chinese rock singer Zuoxiao Zuzhou teach him new songs, and from this the idea for an album soon arose, “so that he could at least sing other songs when the authorities came for him again.”

There's a good reason why Ai Weiwei chose heavy metal as his musical form of expression; it's the music that suits his martial lyrics. The lyrics are realistic, dealing with Ai Weiwei's confrontations with the police or recounting his wall-jumping, a rather ambiguous phrase because in Chinese slang, "wall-jumping" also means jumping over Beijing's infamous "firewall ," overcoming internet censorship.

On the surface, it is “only” about the blind peasant lawyer Chen Guangcheng, who secretly fled to Beijing over the wall of his farm to escape his pursuers, where he achieved safety from the Chinese police state by jumping over a second wall (that of the US embassy).

There's also a reason why the artist sported wildly styled hair and a bushy beard at the time of the album's release, and that reason isn't that Ai Weiwei wanted to look like a seasoned heavy metal singer. Rather, the wild hairstyle was meant to make him look exactly as he did during his solitary confinement – ​​wild, deranged, and deprived.

In spring 2014, Ai Weiwei's film "The Fake Case" in cinemas, a Canadian-Danish-British production directed by the award-winning Danish documentary filmmaker Andreas Rosforth Johnsen.

With Ai Weiwei as the sole actor, no other actors are needed or permitted to portray Ai Weiwei's imprisonment (Ai Weiwei the Fake Case (2013), CN/DK/GB, running time 86 minutes, rated G, documentary, drama, theatrical release 08.05.2014), you can learn more about Ai Weiwei's political situation in the article “Ai Weiwei – The Fake Case” .

New art by Ai Weiwei is constantly emerging; in March 2013, a huge mural was unveiled in the Chilean port of Valparaiso, which Ai Weiwei designed as a tribute to Pablo Neruda. “A Pablo” (“For Pablo”), a 900-square-meter mural, adorns the facade of the former Valparaiso prison, which is now a cultural center.

The image shows pictures of the Senkaku Islands, the islands that China and Japan are currently fighting over, with a line from the poem “Cabo de Chile” , which Ai Weiwei’s father Ai Qing dedicated to his close friend Pablo Neruda

Ai Weiwei is booked up with new projects for a long time to come, and is determined to stand up for the integrity of the individual – a prerequisite for respecting human rights and freedom of expression, and for any democracy.