San Francisco Public Library

Ai Weiwei que xi, bian ji wei yuan Lin Huifen [and five others] = Ai Weiwei absent / editorial board: Huoy-fen Lin [and five others]

chi

Includes bibliographical references

contains biographical information

local government publication

illustrations

no index present

non fiction

Ai Weiwei que xi

bibliographycatalogs

932618013

bian ji wei yuan Lin Huifen [and five others] = Ai Weiwei absent / editorial board: Huoy-fen Lin [and five others]

The solo exhibition Ai Weiwei absent at Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM) is the artist's first large-scale solo exhibition to be held anywhere in the ethnic Chinese world. The museum presents the exhibition to convey Ai Weiwei's dynamic works of arts, his ideas and influential power to audience. Ai Weiwei absent presents 21 sets of artwork, spanning a period from 1980s to 2011, encompassing a variety of forms such as installation and video, and using a variety of materials such as ceramics, marble, antique utensils and bicycles. It also includes a series of over 100 photographic works, 75 of which were taken by the artist during his stay in New York between 1983 and 1993, while the other 25 pieces were shot after he moved back Beijing East Village in 1993. The artist's most recent work, Forever Bicycles, created specially for this exhibition, is composed of 1,200 bicycles and installed in an exhibition space 10 meters high. Bicycles have long been the most common means of transport in China and as such are both familiar and intimate, but Ai Weiwei strips away the functionality of the object. He takes his own sensitivity and preferences and through them expands the idea of using finished objects. The use of 1,200 bikes and the large structure of the work were particular challenges in the construction of the piece. In addition, as the bikes are piled layer upon layer on top of each other, their wheel axles are transformed to form a labyrinthine-like space. Visitors can appreciate and reflect on the aesthetics of the abstract shapes from different angles, at the same time feeling first-hand the work's great energy and appeal. Date: October 29, 2011 - January 29, 2012

Getting at the heart of the art: ten questions / Liu Yung-Jen converses with Ai Weiwei -- Ai Weiwei, natural-born rebel / Feng Boyi -- Exhibition art in museums isn't very interesting / Chris Dercon -- Fairytale machine, future people / Chen Tai-Song -- Mercurial mockery: Ai Weiwei and the conflict between intuition and life / Liu Yung-Jen

Ai Weiwei absent