Weiwei-isms
Chinese artist and humanitarian activist Ai Weiwei works innovatively in a bold variety of modes and media, from video works to sculpture made from the fragments of ancient statues of Buddha to salvaged pieces of old, traditional houses destroyed by developers. He has published groundbreaking art books; the Internet has been essential to his art and contact with the global community; and he is as in command of language as he is of images and objects. This little book collects Ai’s aphorisms, or “Weiwei-isms,” distilled thoughts culled from Ai’s writings, interviews, and Twitter posts on freedom of expression, human rights, art and activism, power and the government, and moral choices. Embattled in a “war of words” with the Chinese government, as Warsh notes, Ai’s “skill in wielding the brief phrase as cultural statement has gained scholarly and critical admiration as an art form unto itself.” As brilliant and serious as Ai is, he is also companionable and uplifting: “Liberty is about our rights to question everything.” “My favorite word? It’s act.” “Art is not an end but a beginning.” --Donna Seaman