If you have seen or heard of Ai Weiwei's exhibitions and pieces, without reading or hearing where they sprang from in his heart, you will not understand his art, as I did not for many years. With a contemporary design and lightweight construction, this Rak Joy Wall Hung Mirror complements any bathroom style. Here, through the sweeping lens of his own and his father's life, Ai Weiwei tells an epic tale of China over the last 100 years, from the Cultural Revolution to the modern-day Chinese Communist Party. Some parts were heartbreaking, some were immensely insightful in providing the artist's view on his sources of inspiration.

And in such a place, even the existence of the father-son duo and many other such artist activists is a spark that might ignite a fire one day. The quote I remember most came at the end and for me summed up Ai Weiwei's life and work: "Art is the antidote to fear" (p. Ai Weiwei is an artist, but more so he is a political activist, a creative energetic intellect popping widely in a China no longer secluded from the rest of the world. I also haven't decided to delete Ai Weiwei's Blog from my TBR, as while it has languished unread and unacquired since 2013, I'm still curious about what material wasn't backed up by the Internet Archive (threatened by its own share of greedy and puerile antagonists) after the blog was taken down by the Chinese government in 2009.We’re jumping with JOY over this newest collection of 100 hilarious and entertaining Archie stories! This could be a cool book if it were trimmed down and focused in more on the history of China’s oppression of the arts – if that sounds interesting to you, then you can just read the first half of the book which focuses on his father, and skip the rest. The first part of the book felt disjointed and detached, as though he were writing about someone and something that was foreign to him. Ai Weiwei grew up with his father as they were moved from desolate post to post during the 40s and 50s, and it isn't until the end of his autobiography and father's biography, that we find the reason for the writing of this volume: "That night, as the hours stretched out ahead of me, I thought of my father, and I realized just how incomplete my understanding of him was. No matter how the Chinese government tries to suppress him, Ai Weiwei never fails to speak up and to use his work to speak for those who are unable to speak for themselves.

This is an engaging and honest memoir of the author's life, part of which he spent in exile as a child with his father, a poet of renown. Come to our boutique in McLean, VA today to explore our hand-picked selection of designer niche colognes and perfumes.Getting a personal explanation on the thought processes behind the development/evolution of his installations is very enlightening - but perhaps some of the intrigue/mystery/magic behind contemporary art is lost when attributed to storylines and reason. In Ai Weiwei's widely anticipated memoir, "one of the most important artists working in the world today" ( Financial Times) tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father, the nation's most celebrated poet.

Once an intimate of Mao Zedong and the nation's most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei's father, Ai Qing, was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as "Little Siberia," where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets.Without the sound of human voices, without warmth and color in lives, without attentive glances, Earth is just an insensate rock suspended in space" (p.

Ai's writing style definitely takes some time to adjust to - he is blunt and concise no matter what he is discussing, and he often blurs the boundaries between memoir, biography, and catalog raisonnee. Many of Ai Weiwei's international political positions are controversial, but living in the West has made it possible for him to express those ideas. If the item comes direct from a manufacturer, it may be delivered in non-retail packaging, such as a plain or unprinted box or plastic bag. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. The two different stories are supposed to highlight how the memory of government oppression in China has continued ripple effects across generations.Then and there, the idea of writing this book came to me, for I did not want [my son] to suffer the same regret" (p. It was an impressive journey to Ai Weiwei's family history that is tightly connected to the history of China. Remember there is only of each style available so get in touch as soon as possible to secure your perfect outfit!