Art

This month, two art exhibits have just opened featuring the work of contemporary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at Alcatraz Island: and Bleinheim Palace (England). Poke through the articles and images of his work and get a feel for the sort of stuff he creates. For what it’s worth, the Alcatraz exhibition is probobly the better of the two. And, in fact, it includes Leggos, so how cool is that?

But right now, Ai Weiwei is actually under house arrest (so he is unable to attend his own art shows) because he has made some provocative statements against the Chinese government. He’s made some strong statements against the American government as well (several years ago, he exhibited a photograph of himself, brandishing his middle finger at the White House). For this article response, describe some of the works Ai created for one (or both) of the above exhibitions, and then express your opinion about it. Is it good art, or is it gimmicky? Some call Ai a hero; others say he’s a phoney. What do you think?

If you need more informaton to develop an opinion, here are some other videos and articles about Ai:

“Poetry Makes Nothing Happen” (about 4 minutes)

Ai Weiwei speaking (via skype) at TED

A brief review of some of Ai’s political art at the Brooklyn Museum, NY