Ai Weiwei: New Communication | "Exclusive" | Art21

Episode #160: In one of his first on-camera interviews following his release from detention in 2011, Ai Weiwei discusses the potential for artists to express themselves online and encourages artists to be more aware of shifts in social media. This episode is filmed in Ai's Beijing studio—where the artist uses Twitter on a daily basis to share ideas, question authority, and create dialogue—with Mandarin Chinese tweets translated into English.

Ai Weiwei's position as a provocateur and dissident Chinese artist informs the tenor and reception of much of his work. He infuses sculptures, photographs, and public artworks with political conviction and personal poetry, often making use of recognizable and historic art forms in critical examinations of a host of contemporary social issues. Ai employs sarcasm, juxtaposition, and repetition to reinvigorate the potency and symbolism of traditional images and to reframe the familiar with minimal means.

Learn more about Ai Weiwei at:
http://www.art21.org/artists/ai-weiwei

CREDITS: Producer: Ian Forster. Consulting Producer: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Interview: Phil Tinari. Camera: Takahisa Araki. Sound: Lin Hau. Editor: Morgan Riles. Artwork Courtesy: Ai Weiwei. Tweet Translation: @aiwwenglish & @hlkalin. Additional Translation: Amy Qing Lin. Theme Music: Peter Foley.

Ai Weiwei's Studio
Beijing, China

84 days after Ai's release from detention

[sounds of typing on computer keyboards]

-That Apple keyboard is on this connector
- Isn't that Apple's too?

-That's not Apple's..

- Oh, the keyboard is no Apple's?

- Someone made it...
- Combined?

- Yeah.

I wake up early, like 6:00 to 7:00

and I would sit in front of a computer

to send some news and read some tweets

And I wait for my assistant to come,

Then we discuss some matters related to

our shows, production..

You know, I basically have nothing to do..

I cannot really be active on the Internet..

We are completely handling a new human condition

How to express yourself and how to

make this kind of 'new communication'

[During the days in detention, I thought most about the moon]

[The moon is exceptionally beautiful]

The technology for the free exchange of information

and all those have become so advanced

It changes so fast

So I think artists should be more aware of the change

And have yet to really enjoy

this new character of the time.

[Home. Sitting in front of the studio computer]

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