Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei
Ai Weiwei; born 28 August 1957 in Beijing) is a Chinese Contemporary artist and activist. His father's side's original surname is 蔣 Jiang. Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics. As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal...
NationalityChinese
ProfessionSculptor
Date of Birth18 May 1957
CityBeijing, China
CountryChina
Beijing is constructing a 100,000 m2 modern art museum, yet it will not feature any of my work.
Modern Chinese culture is weak and lackluster.
I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it's very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.
Many people I know - writers, poets - they have all been sentenced not once but sometimes three times after they come out. They serve five or six years, come out another time, and then nine years. Come out again, 12 years. Only because they have a different opinion. They are innocent people, they have beautiful minds, beautiful hearts.
I always admire writers. My father was a writer, a poet. I always admire people who can clearly state their mind.
Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.
I'm not a writer, but today I think you have to be everything. As an artist you have an obligation to let people know what is on your mind and why you're doing this.
Of course, most luxury goods in China are for corrupted officials and their relatives. And that made China become the biggest luxury-goods market. In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.
Once I was in New York, I completely had no interest for a long time in what happened in China because I had been through so much. Seeing my father's life struggle and so many whole generations lose their potential or possibility in their lives. Just being pushed into this political struggle and the damage done not only to their lives but their relatives.
Warhol came from an ordinary family and he had a profound understanding about capitalism and material culture. He was probably one of the few Western artists - or artists from the United States - that could be considered a true product of his time and brought out that kind of spirit of the culture.
You see so many people doing quite nice and respectful work, but nobody like Warhol. Warhol is outstanding. I think he has a value that is far from fully understood. He's very special for younger generations.
My situation gives me certain ideas about beauty or the excitement of life, but that doesn't mean other people can necessarily appreciate it.
It's always nice to share your energy with young people, the people who might not have any skills but are simply willing to be a part of it.
Individual; that means he has his own special way to communicate, which creates the form of him. In the information age, this expression and communication has become so different.