Ai Weiwei « Arrested Motion

Tag Archives: Ai Weiwei

Openings: Ai Weiwei – “Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads” @ Pulitzer Fountain (Central Park)

Posted by lowpro, May 7, 2011

To mirror the images we brought you a few days back of the Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads still wrapped up, we can now bring you coverage of the impressive installation of Ai Weiwei’s massive bronze sculptures in all their larger than life glory. Delayed by two days due to the capture of Osama Bin Laden, Mayor Bloomberg was able to officially unveil the public art installation on a drizzly Wednesday morning, the ominous weather subtly underscoring the somber tone of the event as […]

Setup: Ai Weiwei – “Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads” @ Pulitzer Fountain (Central Park)

Posted by lowpro, May 4, 2011

Postponed by Mayor Bloomberg due to the unexpected capture of Osama bin Laden and his need to address the City of New York properly Monday, May 2nd, which was the original date scheduled for the official reveal of Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads with both Ai WeiWei and Bloomberg initially doing the honors, the plastic and tape will finally be removed today. While Ai will tragically no longer be in attendance as a result of his unwarranted arrest and prolonged detention by the Chinese […]

Update / Releases: “Ai Weiwei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009″ Book

Posted by lowpro, April 13, 2011

Perhaps foreshadowing his own fate, Ai Weiwei’s chilling last blog entry before it was taken down went as follows: “What can they do to me? Nothing more than to banish, kidnap, or imprison me. Perhaps they could fabricate my disappearance into thin air, but they don’t have any creativity or imagination. And they lack both joy and the ability to fly.” As the world unites in support of the safe and immediate release of the famous artist and activist after his recent detention (now missing […]

Ai Weiwei MIA in Wake of Plans to Establish Satellite Studio in Berlin

Posted by lowpro, April 5, 2011

Less than a week after his announcement to set up a studio in Berlin, China’s most well known artist and activist Ai WeiWei has effectively gone missing, with the clock now well past 36 hours without communication and French and German leaders calling for his release. Long an outspoken thorn in the side of the Chinese Government, with the plug being pulled on his massive retrospective by the Chinese gallery for being “too politically sensitive” as the most recent attempt to quell his voice, Mr. […]

Teaser: Ai Weiwei – “Circle of Animals/Zodiac” @ Grand Army Plaza (Central Park)

Posted by sleepboy, March 13, 2011

Chinese conceptual artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, whose studio was recently demolished by the Chinese government, apparently didn’t have his bronze Zodiac Heads in storage there at the time. The pieces which originally exhibited at the 29th Sao Paulo Biennale in Brazil last year will be making a trip to the Big Apple come May. The twelve sculptures represent the traditional Chinese zodiac that adorn the fountain-clock of Yuanming Yuan, an imperial retreat in Beijing, five of which were looted and whose location is currently […]

Ai Weiwei’s Studio Demolished

Posted by sleepboy, January 12, 2011

Despite his international success as an artist (see Sunflower Seeds), the demolition of Ai Weiwei’s studio by the Chinese government serves as a chilling reminder that there is still a dark side to the Middle Kingdom. Although the arts complex, which can be seen in his upcoming Never Sorry documentary, was cited for not having the proper building permits and is being torn down, it has been suggested this was actually done as a warning to the outspoken dissident and artist. Ironically, it was the […]

Video: Ai Weiwei – “Never Sorry” Documentary

Posted by sleepboy, January 8, 2011

Right on the heels of the behind-the-scenes Sunflower Seeds video, a trailer for Ai Weiwei’s Never Sorry documentary has surfaced. This first full length feature on the Chinese artist and activist sheds light on some of his philosophies & principles and why he is admired by so many fans in and out of China. Discuss Ai Weiwei here.

Video: Ai Weiwei – “Sunflower Seeds” @ Tate Modern

Posted by sleepboy, January 4, 2011

We wanted to share this documentary we recently watched put out by the Tate Modern on Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds installation (covered). Hosted at the Turbine Hall and part of the Unilever Series of commissions for the museum, the impressive project from the Chinese artist and dissident took two and half years to complete and involved over 1600 artisans handcrafting 100 million ceramic seeds. The footage rolls as Ai Weiwei takes the viewer through the entire creative process from the mining of the raw materials […]

Basel Week Miami ’10 – Faurschou

Posted by Khoi, December 8, 2010

Walking into Copenhagen and Beijing-based Faurschou’s booth at Art Basel Miami Beach was like walking into a carefully-curated, intimate museum show. With pieces by Ai Weiwei (including a half-million dollar sunflower pile that was created pre-Tate), Cai Guo-Qiang, Robert Rauschenberg, and Lucian Freud, everywhere you looked, you saw near-masterpieces. They certainly brought out the big guns, which you will see after the jump…

Showing: Ai Weiwei – “Sunflower Seeds” Installation @ Tate Modern

Posted by juggernut3, October 19, 2010

Last week, we had the pleasure of making the journey out to the Tate Modern in London to experience Ai Weiwei’s latest installation. The contemporary artist from China worked with the village of Jingdezhen to individually mold and hand paint over 100 million ceramic “Sunflower Seeds” which lined the entry hall adjacent to main doors of the museum. Every person was invited to partake and interact with the “land of seeds”. It was a romp for many who jumped, ran, played, and even laid down […]