[View the story " In China, is censorship the mother of creativity?" on Storify ] In China, is censorship the mother of creativity? The Stream speaks with Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei. Storified by The Stream · Tue, Apr 10 2012 11:27:33
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Journalist Alison Klayman began to work on Ai's story in 2009, as Ai was engaged in a campaign to document the deaths of more than 5,000 schoolchildren
in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake . "Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry" touches on events including the demolition of the artist's
Shanghai studio and the 81-day detention last year by Chinese government. The film debuted at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and won the US Documentary Special Jury Prize for Spirit of Defiance. It is set for release this summer.
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry TEASERawwneversorry
"Don't give up.Don't self-censor.Always express yourself. " 不要放弃,不要自我审查,永于表达自我. —— 《Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry | 艾未未：道歉你妹》郭大虾
The @AwwNeverSorry doc puts the artist's work into the context of what drives him. I was moved by the story;still am by the example he setsNadia Neophytou
The middle finger has become Ai's artistic calling card ever since he featured it in a photographic series in front of well-known locations including Tiananmen Square and the White House. Below, audience members at the Sundance Film Festival raise their middle fingers in salute to an absentee Ai, whose terms of bail prevent him from leaving Beijing until June 22.
All of Sundance award ceremony gives the symbolic finger for Ai Weiwei. It felt more appropriate than an empty c… http://twitpic.com/8czp0waliklay
With 135,822 followers, Ai Weiwei is one of China's most active twitter users. For years, this artist-activist used social media as a means of continuing his criticism against the Chinese government and connect to Chinese netizens around the globe.
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I can't read Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's tweets but I follow him out of solidarity with his campaign for greater democracy & artistic freedomDavid G. Hallman
TIME magazine included Ai Weiwei among the 200 candidates in their 2012 TIME 100 poll.
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In the following video, Ai Weiwei discusses the making of his sculptural installation,
"Sunflower Seeds" , at London's Tate Modern museum. Ai says that he considers art as "a tool to set up new questions and to create a basic structure which can be open to possibilities."
Ai Weiwei: Sunflower seedstate
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Last year, after being detained by Chinese authorities for alleged tax evasion, Ai Weiwei became the country's most famous missing person. During his 81-day confinement, from April through June 2011, Ai has said he was interrogated for allegedly playing a role in China's "Jasmine Revolution".
Below, a video of a song titled "Free Weiwei":
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Ai's creative use of art to criticise the government has inspired thousands of his friends and supporters around the world. A protest organized by Art Citizens, an alliance of about 30 artists and art lovers, was held in Hong Kong, where people drew Ai-inspired graffiti around the city to raise awareness of the artist's detention.
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Protesters with Ai Weiwei masks pose front of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum. Their message: "Everybody is Ai Weiwei".
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Fourteen days after Ai went missing, artists and activists brought chairs to hold sit-ins outside of Chinese embassies around the world to support the artist's release. The protest, known as "
1001 chairs for Ai Weiwei ", was inspired by
Fairytale: 1001 Qing Dynasty Wooden Chairs , Ai's 2007 installation at Documenta 12 in Kassel, Germany.
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@zhizime says: One week after Ai's disappearance, everyone around me has suffered from the torture of the soul and heart. Petitions have been pointless, and this time we should take to the streets. Before its collapse, the regime would devour many lives of people whose voices of criticism could be heard. But I just want them to be alive. It is the first time that I have a strong feeling that our lives are so close to the threat from the authoritarian regime.
未未杳无音信一周后，身边每一个人都受着灵魂的拷问和良心的折磨。觉得签名已经毫无意义，已经签了一次，这次必须上街。反对声音是这个政权在倒塌之前一定会吞噬掉无数生命，觉得他们好好活着比这更有意义，对我们更加重要。我第一次强烈感受到极权对个人生命的威胁如此之近。 #81tian栀子
Last month, Ai installed four live webcams in his studio so that both supporters and police could monitor him around the clock. This webcam project was created as a call for transparency and marked the first anniversary of his detention. After broadcasting for 47 hours and receiving almost 5,200,000 views, the webcams were shutdown following an order by Chinese authorities.
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When logic and daily experiences are disturbed, the power of art emerges. Weiweicam survived 47 hours, was... http://tmblr.co/Z68-LyJ7VQ3UAiww English (beta)
When Ai Weiwei's cameras go dark, who is more dangerous, the artist or the Chinese government?Todd Young
@yanenshenzhou says: ...What Ai Weiwei has been doing cannot change China all of a sudden. However, as long as he is there, those who have a sense of justice will keep getting closer to him and closer to justice. Then the country can see hope.
我提议每天给要给艾未未鼓掌，因为这真是激动人心的事。艾未未做的事虽然不能一下改变中国，但只要他让大家知道他存在，心存正义的人，就会不断的往他，往正义那边靠拢。中国就更有希望。闫恩
Following his release from detention, Ai received a $2.5-million fine for tax evasion and was given 15 days to pay. To his surprise, thousands of Chinese citizens and others donated money. Many believed that Ai was served the fine because of his outspoken criticism of the government. Some also considered the donation as a rare opportunity to support his goals. The below photo shows a receipt designed by Ai, who has stressed that he would pay back "every penny".
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In response to donations from Ai's supporters, the state-run Global Times newspaper ran a
commentary saying that Ai has been "exaggerated in the Internet era."
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The artist announced in November that Beijing police were investigating his cameraman, who took pictures showing Ai and four women naked, for spreading pornography online. Ai's supporters subsequently stripped and posted their nude photographs online in response.
Ai Weiwei supporters strip off as Artist faces 'porn' investigation, #nocomments ------> http://pic.twitter.com/AMuaOmKHTunde Mo' Aguda
Below, a video titled "A letter to Ai Weiwei" shows how Ai has changed the beliefs of many youth in China.
Xiaolu Wang's Digital Story (China): A Letter to Ai Weiweiumabroad230
