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Weiwei Ai
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Ai Weiwei's Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009 (Writing Art) Paperback – March 18, 2011

by Ai Weiwei (Author), Lee Ambrozy (Editor, Translator)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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Manifestos and immodest proposals from China's most famous artist and activist, culled from his popular blog, shut down by Chinese authorities in 2009.

In 2006, even though he could barely type, China's most famous artist started blogging. For more than three years, Ai Weiwei turned out a steady stream of scathing social commentary, criticism of government policy, thoughts on art and architecture, and autobiographical writings. He wrote about the Sichuan earthquake (and posted a list of the schoolchildren who died because of the government's “tofu-dregs engineering”), reminisced about Andy Warhol and the East Village art scene, described the irony of being investigated for “fraud” by the Ministry of Public Security, made a modest proposal for tax collection. Then, on June 1, 2009, Chinese authorities shut down the blog. This book offers a collection of Ai's notorious online writings translated into English—the most complete, public documentation of the original Chinese blog available in any language.

The New York Times called Ai “a figure of Warholian celebrity.” He is a leading figure on the international art scene, a regular in museums and biennials, but in China he is a manifold and controversial presence: artist, architect, curator, social critic, justice-seeker. He was a consultant on the design of the famous “Bird's Nest” stadium but called for an Olympic boycott; he received a Chinese Contemporary Art “lifetime achievement award” in 2008 but was beaten by the police in connection with his “citizen investigation” of earthquake casualties in 2009. Ai Weiwei's Blog documents Ai's passion, his genius, his hubris, his righteous anger, and his vision for China.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    336 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    The MIT Press
  4. Publication date
    March 18, 2011
  5. Reading age
    18 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    7 x 0.66 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0262015218
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0262015219
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

This work is invaluable as a critical perspective and chronicle while also being an extraordinary contributor to...the contemporary Chinese political landscape.—David Roberts, Building Design—

In terms of illuminating the dynamics of protest in our understanding of one of global culture's most percipient commentators, this text is highly recommended.

—Alex Ross, THE—

About the Author

Ai Weiwei is one of today's most important and controversial artists. His recent exhibitions include “Sunflower Seeds” at the Tate Modern, London, a vast assemblage of handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds; and six fiberglass dioramas depicting his 81-day imprisonment in 2011, shown at a Venice gallery in parallel with the 2013 Venice Biennale. He was a designer of the famous “Bird's Nest” stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Lee Ambrozy is the Editor of artforum.com.cn, Artforum's Chinese language website.

Lee Ambrozy is the Editor of artforum.com.cn, Artforum's Chinese language website.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press; New edition (March 18, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262015218
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262015219
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.62 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.66 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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Weiwei Ai

Weiwei Ai

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Virginia
5.0 out of 5 stars Ai Wei Wei
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2011
Verified Purchase
A VERY revealing and diverse mix of essays, reflections and observations by the Chinese artist who was arrested and is still being "detained" w/out outside contact. Good insights into the mental and physical state of "modern" China as well as topics such as architecture, contemporary artists and art, politics, etc.
6 people found this helpful
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Manfredi Piccolomini
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2014
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Ai Wei Wei proves himself an very talented and powerful writer. His blogs are motivated by political rage but go far beyond it to involve the meaning of what it is to be human. Beautifully written and beautifully edited.
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Zo Ee Chee
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2011
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The book arrived in perfect condition. New, clean and fast! The book itself is very interesting, but because the content is of a blog, thoughts are normally pretty disjointed between one blog post and another. Otherwise, great job!
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Phil Hurrle
5.0 out of 5 stars Ai Weiwei, my new hero
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2012
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Honest and informal discussions about art, politics, and society. This is a revealing look at a Chinese dissident with a world view. Get it.
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Maureen C. Verplanck
4.0 out of 5 stars So revealing
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2013
Verified Purchase
My interest in his blog truly centere on his post 2008 earthquake entries.

As usual for him, there were entries which held much depth and insight. For me, the one drawback was that it takes some time to give the book the attention it deserves and I am always short on time.

Some of the things he says are incredibly insightful. Certainly I see China more truly than I had before. I cannot believe that the government would redo the fronts of the homes on a street so that they all looked alike. Incredible Worthwhile.
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George
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2016
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nice
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DnA
5.0 out of 5 stars Jumping the Great Firewall and paying for it.
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2011
Ai Weiwei's Blog is a collection of courageously honest rants. This book is also a sobering reminder of the price some pay for testing the boundaries of expression in a country that fears freedom. He has now disappeared and in doing so has become more than an important contemporary artist, (see the Phaidon monograph for a good survey.) His detention is emblematic of China's stumble toward the inevitable. We should all be paying close attention.
10 people found this helpful
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Sparrow's Quill
1.0 out of 5 stars Blogging for Dollars, Bowling for Ai WeiWei
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2012
Sellout < Ai WeiWei. No
Sellout > Ai WeiWei. No
Sellout = Ai WeiWei. Yes
Sellout + Ai WeiWei = money with no heart or soul.
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Top reviews from other countries

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charlotte
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Sterne
Reviewed in Germany on April 10, 2013
Verified Purchase
wie gut, dass sich das löschen des Blogs gefordert durch die Zensur ankündigte und die Einträge vorher gesammelt und akribisch und mit gutem Kommentar übersetzt wurden. nichts was ich in einem Rutsch durchlese, sondern immer wieder danach greife
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Suzie
5.0 out of 5 stars Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
Very nice item and received item in very good condition in a good time. All packaged well. Interesting and ideal for my ceramics project. Thanks very much.
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susan benn
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2016
Verified Purchase
great
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