Weiwei reacted against and the governments censorship and provided artists in china with an education they would not have had otherwise. Ai weiweis studio plays a role in the cultural life of beijing akin to that of andy warhols factory. They followed it with a white cover book and a gray cover book, a trilogy. Ai, weiwei artists as writers libguides at ocad university. But shortly after returning to shanghai in 1932, the anticommunist nationalist government deemed ai qing a leftist and jailed him for. The white cover book 1995 and the grey cover book 1997, coedited by zeng. Ai weiwei had blogged for four yearsinvestigating coverups and corruption in the governments handling of a devastating 2008 earthquake in sichuan and the countrys hosting of the olympics. A documentary reveals the remarkable chinese artist ai weiwei to be a mysterious, opaque. But as chinese artist ai weiwei s new book weiwei isms. Never sorry is the story of an artist who continues to make ripples in the fabric of chinese society. Black cover book 1994, white cover book 1995 and grey cover book 1997.
Ai weiwei, chinese artist and activist whose work included sculptural installations, architectural projects, photographs, and videos. With ai weiwei having recently received his passport after chinese authorities held it for four years. Ai weiwei, kui hua zi sunflower seeds smarthistory. Wei lived in new york for over ten years, where he studied at parsons school of design. By visiting our website or transacting with us, you agree to this.
The white cover book 1995 and the grey cover book 1997, coedited by zeng, feature more politically oriented content, including works by contemporary chinese artists and interviews with barbara kruger and jenny holzer. The first comprehensive monograph on the life and work of activist and dissident chinese artist ai weiwei, this luxurious, silkwrapped tome takes the cake for summers most sumptuous gift book. While ais art was lauded internationally, the frequently provocative and subversive dimension of his art, as well as his. Black cover book 1994, white cover book 1995, and gray cover book 1997. But as chinese artist ai weiweis new book weiweiisms proves, small. Black, white, and grey cover books guggenheim museum.
Red flag books, 1997 politicallyoriented content, including works by contemporary chinese artists and interviews with barbara kruger and jenny holzer. Oct 12, 2010 ai weiwei born 1957 beijing is a leading chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, cultural and social commentator and activist. While chinese homes from this period typically had a minimum of three bays between dougong roof supports, the palatial expanse of white house and its ornately decorated queti reinforcements between columns indicate that the former occupants were a. His taschen publications include collectors editions like jeff koons, christopher wool, albert oehlen, ai weiwei, and the david hockney sumo a bigger book, as well as monographs like the xxlsized jeanmichel basquiat and survey books such as modern art and art now. Edited by zeng xiaojun and ai weiwei, with zhuang hui.
Ai weiwei study of perspective, 19952011 tiananmen square, 1995 blackand white photograph, ai weiwei studio ai weiwei sunflower seeds, 2010 detail porcelain, ai weiwei studio written by laura connelly. Since then, he has turned to twitter and instagram. Aaa collection at the guggenheim alternative publishing. Maybe ai weiwei was the only artist who could open the newly renovated kemper art museum on the campus of washington. It is the story about the power of art, the power of internet, and how these two can change it all. Tiananmen in beijing, the reichstag in berlin and the white house in washington study of perspective, 19932005. For ai, this struggle is a war of words, says editor larry warsh in his introduction to weiweiisms, and his own wordsspoken, written, or tweetedare like a bullet out of the gun, ai weiwei repeatedly points out, and centuries of history attest, human rights and freedom of expression are not set by anyones agenda. Ai weiwei, available for purchase in the warhol store. Study of perspective white house is an iconic example of a larger body of work by ai weiwei that melds art and activism, and is an overt. The catalogue is published by ngv, in collaboration with the warhol and ai, and edited by eric shiner, the warhols director, and max delany, former ngv senior curator, contemporary art. Licensing if you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in momas collection, or an image of a moma publication or archival material including installation views, checklists, and press releases, please contact art resource publication in north america or scala archives publication in. It is impossible to simplify my feelings about china. Ai weiwei has been called an iconoclast, a radical, a voice for the voiceless, and was once named the most powerful artist in the world. In the years that followed, ai produced three highly influential books that combined and disseminated the western influences he had acquired.
Black cover book 1994, white cover book 1995 och gray cover book 1997. The documentary goes onto chronologically reconstruct the events that occurred from the time he. What picasso was to the 20th century, ai weiwei is to the 21st, and if our century is to be the chinese century, then its fitting that the greatest artist of the age is chinese. Deeply familiar with the crossdisciplinary evolution of ai weiweis practice, merewether has published numerous essays about ais work and was editor of the first english monograph on the artist, ai weiwei works. This little book collects ais aphorisms, or weiweiisms, distilled thoughts culled from ais writings, interviews, and twitter posts on freedom of expression, human rights, art and activism, power and the government, and moral choices. Sep 17, 2015 major ai weiwei exhibition champions the visual power of dissent.
Ai weiwei at neugerriemschneider contemporary art daily. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1, 2. Ai weiwei atervande till kina 1993, sedan fadern blivit allvarligt sjuk. Tehching, ai weiwei, and xu bing convened in new york city to dis cuss art. Major ai weiwei exhibition champions the visual power of dissent. As a result of his fathers denouncement from the antirightist movement, ais family was sent to a labor camp in beidahuang and was eventually exiled to shihezi, xinjiang. Three thousand copies of each book were published, quickly spreading throughout china without any official system of distribution. Features fullscreen sharing embed analytics article stories visual stories seo. A leading figure among chinese artists of his generation, ai weiwei create.
Oct 17, 20 tibetan poet tsering woeser and dissident artist ai weiwei have collaborated on a book about tibetan selfimmolations, attempting to explain the suicidal protests that have gripped the himalayan. The philosophy of ai weiwei from andy warhol and back again. Adding to my excitement i got the artist himself to sign it, since this was on the opening night of ai weiweis exhibition in the cycladic. While ais art was lauded internationally, its frequently provocative dimension as well as his political outspokenness triggered forms of repression from chinese authorities. With hans van dijk and frank uytterhaegen, i established the first contemporary gallery in china, which we named china art archives and warehouse.
During this time, he took more than 10,000 blackandwhite photographs of. Oct 06, 2016 ai weiwei has been called an iconoclast, a radical, a voice for the voiceless, and was once named the most powerful artist in the world. Back in beijing, he helped establish the experimental artists east village and published a series of three books about this new generation of artists. I didnt 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. Ai weiweis work is an audacious blend of old and new, western and eastern, serious and irreverent. Ai weiwei covers gangnam style video the new york times. Ai weiwei for day and taxi a new book, art record covers published by taschen and written by francesco spampinato, showcases how artists have used the album cover as a uniquely populist canvas.
Much like warhols 1977 book the philosophy of andy warhol from a to b and back again, which featured the artists sprawling essays on sex, celebrity, and america, weiweiisms is a. Weiwei isms by ai, weiwei and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Ai weiwei born august 28, 1957, chinese architect, activist. An interview with ai weiwei the andy warhol museum.
The philosophy of ai weiwei from andy warhol and back. While chinese homes from this period typically had a minimum of three bays between dougong roof supports, the palatial expanse of white house and its ornately decorated queti reinforcements between columns indicate that the former. After his return to the peoples republic of china in 1993, he initiated one of the first alternative art spaces in beijing and began writing and publishing texts, including black cover book 1994, white cover book 1995, and grey cover book 1997, which each seek to redefine art. Ai weiwei continued publishing, releasing the white cover book in 1995 and the grey cover book in 1997. Theater of the world, which presents work by 71 key artists and groups active across china and worldwide whose critical provocations aim to forge reality free from ideology, to establish the individual apart from the collective, and to define. The black, white, and grey cover books, which were coedited by artist ai weiwei, provided a key platform for articulating the artistic. To find out more, including which thirdparty cookies we place and how to manage cookies, see our privacy policy.
A conversation with hsieh tehching, from the black cover book. I made the black cover book 1994, the white cover book 1995. Three thousand copies of each book were published, quickly spreading throughout china without any official system of. This new limited edition is based on ai weiweis provocative artwork that was presented during a controversial art exhibition fuck off which ran alongside the third shanghai biennale in 2000. I made the black cover book 1994, the white cover book 1995 and the grey cover book 1997. The first comprehensive monograph on the life and work of activist and dissident chinese artist ai weiwei, this luxurious, silkwrapped tome takes.
In 2005, ai weiwei began to publish a large amount of texts. Beijing 19932003timezone 8 ltd, 2003, followed by his book under construction. Han medverkade till att bilda konstnarsgruppen beijing east village och gav ut tre bocker med presentationer av samtida yngre konstnarer. Taschens new book, meticulously edited and lavishly produced. Black cover book, the white cover book, and the gray cover book. Found this extremely interesting book ai weiweis blog at the museum of cycladic art shop. Ai weiwei has 36 books on goodreads with 2962 ratings. Published by tai tei publishing company, hong kong, 22. That was the same year security forces detained ai at the. Embattled in a war of words with the chinese government, as warsh notes, ais skill in. Ai weiwei in a german hospital with blood draining from his hemmorage in 2009 photo via frieze.
Chairman mao was the first in the world to use twitter, says ai. Ai weiwei biography facts, childhood, family life, achievements. Guggenheim museum for the exhibition art and china after 1989. His taschen publications include collectors editions like jeff koons, christopher wool, albert oehlen, ai weiwei, and the david hockney sumo a bigger book, as well as monographs like the xxlsized jeanmichel basquiat and survey books such as modern art. Black cover book 1994, white cover book 1995, and gray cover. Described as a free space where you could write anything, black cover 1994, white cover 1995 and gray cover 1997, were only available through wordofmouth. The artist, who mimics the mock horseriding dance moves of the original while wearing handcuffs in his remix, calls his version grassmud horse style, a reference to a chinese internet meme that employs a pun on an obscene phrase to mock government censorship of the web as my colleague michael wines wrote in a thorough explication of the meme in 2009, the. This slim, pocketsized volume compiles quotes made by ai in interviews, in newspaper articles, on his blog, and via twitter. Deeply familiar with the crossdisciplinary evolution of ai weiwei s practice, merewether has published numerous essays about ai s work and was editor of the first english monograph on the artist, ai weiwei works. The case for ai weiwei the art assignment pbs digital.
In 2000, weiwei was included in feng boyis exhibition, fuck off an alternative to the shanghai biennale. Ai weiweis white house is the 80squaremeter frame of a residential home from southern china built during the qing dynasty 1644 1911. Aaa has contributed archival research and loaned items from our collection to solomon r. According to ai weiwei, his father was a very good artist who had studied painting in paris. Tibetan poet tsering woeser and dissident artist ai weiwei have collaborated on a book about tibetan selfimmolations, attempting to explain the suicidal protests that have gripped the himalayan. Ai weiwei born 1957 beijing is a leading chinese artist, curator, architectural designer, cultural and social commentator and activist. The photograph of ai weiweis wife holding up her skirt in tiananmen square is equally controversial, and was included in the black cover book of 1994. Ai founded the china art archives and warehouse in beijing to support modern chinese.
Ai weiwei was aged one when he was sent with his parents into forced exile. Either you know the name ai weiwei or you are, to some degree, clueless. Ai weiwei is widely known as an artist and political activist, but his role as a. There he copublished a series of three books about this new generation of artists with chinese curator feng boyi. Ai created and secretly distributed the white cover book and the grey cover book upon his return from new york to beijing in 1993 to collectively demonstrate contemporary, avantgarde art and.
Black, white, and grey cover books by guggenheim museum. Ai weiwei, wadegiles romanization ai weiwei, born may 18. Theater of the world, which presents work by 71 key artists and groups active across china and worldwide whose critical provocations aim to forge reality free from ideology, to establish the individual apart from the. The white cover book and the grey cover book, are inspired by chinas underground art movement. This little book collects ais aphorisms, or weiweiisms, distilled thoughts culled from ais writings. It is hard cover and the paper is of a very good quality. Inspired by the silk road, between turkey and china, the latest exhibition by controversial artist ai weiwei, entitled ai weiwei on porcelain, will focus on his wideranging practice in this medium showcasing an extensive selection of artworks from the artists oeuvre alongside new works, it will present a narrative informed by his life story and his approach to both the. Jun 04, 2019 hans werner holzwarth is a book designer and editor specializing in contemporary art and photography.
Major ai weiwei exhibition champions the visual power of. Ai weiweis first exhibition in turkey is inspired by. Designers marketers social media managers publishers. Beginning with the 2008 sichuan earthquake, ai has emerged as one of chinas most influential bloggers and social activists. The simplistic cover adds to the design and creativity that is ai weiwei. Unfortunately for them, the reputation of the man time magazine shortlisted for 2011s person of the year cover story just seems to grow. Ai founded the china art archives and warehouse in.