Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei

At this time of social upheaval, artist Ai Weiwei’s presence in all his works spanning his four-decade career reverberates more powerfully than ever. Given his fame, Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei, his first US retrospective in over a decade on view at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), which features his work in all mediums—crafts, voice, film, sculpture, and activism—feels late, but perhaps has arrived at the most relevant time.

Weiwei’s objects are found, familiar, and simultaneously personal and universal. More than 130 objects included in the exhibition range from dust to bricks, stools to bicycles, and porcelains to a mailbox. Their very familiarity holds a profound impact when one reads their social implications. Developing upon Duchampian readymades, his objects are culturally specific embodiments, representing Chinese craft and culture. Divided sectionally, the exhibition’s first chapter, “Introducing the Rebel,” opens with a neon sign, F.U.C.K. (2000), greeting visitors with a sense of humor. The word is a pun on the word “fake,” which is pronounced as “fah-kuh” in Mandarin, and also refers to Weiwei’s studio name, FAKE Design Studio, in Beijing. The defiant messaging of the sign echoes in an adjacent photographic series, “Study of Perspective” (1995–2011), in which the artist is pictured pointing his middle finger toward various landmarks around the world, including the Forbidden City, the Eiffel Tower, and the White House. Playfully, he twists the measuring gesture according to a single-point perspective. Finally, a bronze series, including the sculpture Arm with the Finger in Bronze (2000) is installed in the center of the gallery, solidifying and amplifying Weiwei’s rebellion against authority and power.