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.

艾未未离开拘留所84天后

[电脑键盘打字声]

--那个苹果键盘是在这个接口上。--那台不也是苹果吗？

--那不是苹果的……

--噢，键盘不是苹果的？

--别人给它做的……--搭（配）的啊？

--对。

我醒得很早，六七点就起床了

我会坐在电脑前

发发消息，读读推文

然后等我的助理来

会讨论些关于

我们的展览，作品的东西……

你知道的，我基本上无事可做……

我不能在网上真正的特别活跃……

目前我们面对的，是一种全新的人类处境

如何表达自我

如何建立起这种“新的沟通”

[在被关押的日子里，想最多的是月亮呢。。]

[月亮特别的美]

信息的自由交流

以及其他种种科技变得如此发达

变化如此之快

我认为艺术家更应该意识到这种变化

要真正享受

这个时代的新特点

[到家，坐在工作室电脑前]

Art21 独家制作