录像下载: https://www.wuala.com/renyun.net/People/艾未未/2011/0527/
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/05/26/hong.kong.art.weiwei/index.html?hpt=C2
Is Hong Kong afraid of Ai Weiwei?
- Art HK, Asia’s leading art fair, features 2007 sculpture “Marble Arm” by Ai Weiwei
- But this “one-finger salute” is the only work on show by the detained artist-activist
- Elsewhere in city’s Chai Wan district, 50 artists are speaking out against Ai’s detention
Hong Kong (CNN) — A man in marble is giving me the finger.
I’m at Art HK, Asia’s leading art fair, and the one-finger salute is from the 2007 sculpture “Marble Arm” by outspoken artist-activist Ai Weiwei. As we all should know by now, Ai was detained by Beijing authorities almost two months ago in an ongoing campaign against Chinese activists. Ai has since been accused of tax evasion.
“Marble Arm” is linked to a series of provocative snapshots featuring Ai raising his middle finger to various symbols of power from the White House to Tiananmen Square. On reserve, it has a prospective buyer who is willing to pay $280,000 for the work.
And today, that marble middle finger is greeting prospective buyers and curious visitors at Art HK’s Galerie Urs Meile exhibition space.
But it is a lonely protest. Among the 260 galleries at the international art fair, “Marble Arm” is the only work by Ai on display.
There are a few “Where is Ai Weiwei?” freebie pins and t-shirts available from Galerie Urs Meile and two other dealers at the fair. But for the most part, at Asia’s largest art fair, China’s most well-known artist is noticeably missing.
Q&A: Is China afraid of Ai Weiwei?
Both the United States and the European Union have called for the artist’s release, but the commercial art community in Asia seems to be taking a more, shall we say, diplomatic approach. Art HK director Magnus Renfrew calls Ai “an artist who we greatly admire.”
And yet Renfrew delivers even more praise for city of Hong Kong “where freedom of expression is greatly valued, and freedom of expression is protected under the Bill of Rights of Hong Kong and under the Basic Law of Hong Kong. So it is a very good place for the full variety of voices to be heard.”
–Artist Kacey Wong
Those voices are being heard far from the gleaming halls of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.
In a gritty industrial space in the city’s Chai Wan district, 50 Hong Kong artists are speaking out against Ai’s detention in a non-selling exhibition called “Love the Future.” In Mandarin, it reads as “Ai Wei Lai,” a pun on “Ai Wei Wei” and a code name used by the artist’s online supporters when he first went missing.
Artist missing from ‘bitter-sweet’ exhibition
Those three characters have been censored on the internet in mainland China, but in Hong Kong it’s clearly seen online and throughout the makeshift gallery space. There’s a light box of a hyper-pixilated portrait of Ai. In another corner, there is a photo collage of various Hong Kong figures with his name painted on their foreheads.
“Love the Future” is organized by Hong Kong sculptor Kacey Wong. Wong also organized a Hong Kong protest march in April that attracted an estimated 2,000 people. Wong calls Ai’s arrest a wake-up call for him and fellow local artists. He tells me, “We Hong Kong people tend to live inside a bubble because we have freedom here, whereas in China, there is suppression and illegal detention of good-hearted people.”
Wong also says Ai’s detention has brought about a personal epiphany about what it means to be a Hong Kong artist, as opposed to a mainland Chinese one: “We, in contrast, can speak the truth… without thinking too much.”
In the days immediately following Ai’s disappearance, high-contrast graffiti images appeared throughout Hong Kong showing the bearded face of the artist and a simple question, “Who’s afraid of Ai Weiwei?” Another graffiti campaign flashed a projection of the Ai Weiwei image onto the Chinese People’s Liberation Army barracks in Hong Kong.
The artists behind the graffiti are laying low — and for good reason. Hong Kong police are investigating criminal damage charges against them with a prison term a possibility.
One can only wonder if Ai would nod in approval to such acts of creative defiance here in Hong Kong.
Ai remains detained for an indefinite period of time in an undisclosed location. Despite his imprisonment, Ai has opened major exhibitions in New York and London … and inspired a grassroots movement in Hong Kong while defiantly raising his middle finger in a massively public space on Chinese soil.
The artist may be silenced, but not his message.
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guanxi
Ai’s white sculpture behind white gay portraits symbolizes his inner homosexual feelings for white gays. His little finger obviously represents his little gay wiener that is loved by the West.
3 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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Helga55
How can China be so frightened of a little wei wei? Is it some sort of complex?
5 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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guanxi
China is obviously not frightened of him. They’ve been smashing art idiots for thousands of years. But CNN loves sensationalism. It’s like advertising. It brings them tons of money and satisfies their gay id.
3 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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whatzthefuss
It is all very laudable of Mr.Ai to want to improve the lot of his countrymen but not by being regarded as a stooge of western culture, politics and interests. Communist rule in China is no
t perfect but tremendous progress have been achieved in many fields that have strengthened the once impoverishe… more
It is all very laudable of Mr.Ai to want to improve the lot of his countrymen but not by being regarded as a stooge of western culture, politics and interests. Communist rule in China is not perfect but tremendous progress have been achieved in many fields that have strengthened the once impoverished and dislocated nation. China’s history is replete with numerous examples of civil uprising and rebellion but these are triggered by social unrests caused by widespread famines and subjugation by foreigners. There is no example of an uprising sparked by political dissatisfaction. Why should one man think that he represents a nation yearning for human rights and civil liberties? China has more students completing their tertiary education overseas than any other country in the world. China has more citizens touring other oversea countries than any other country in the world. China has more domestic tourists than any country in the world. China has more internet users than any other country in the world. So what exactly is Mr.Ai unhappy about other than his present self inflicted predicament? Maybe he should have a chat with the millions of young Chinese who are anxiously seeking employment, affordable housing and keeping up with inflation. less
7 hours ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
you have many questions, you must look deeper, the truth will come to you.
7 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
Ai’s work is deep.
7 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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scndnv
No dude, China isn’t afraid of Ai Weiwei..
8 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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EdTZ
In my 30 years of browsing through a newspaper, I’ve never had someone (or rather, something) unflatteringly show me the finger. Congratulations, CNN. You’ve just reached a new low.
8 hours ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
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cs3yb2i
cs3yb2I, you wanna move to America ? Mind your indian smell first.
7 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
Come on man, this is the voice of democracy, and by the way, I wanna move to America, please can you cut the anti….
7 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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scndnv
Somehow, in the world of art, it’s still considered cutting edge.
8 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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skarrface
The question really is; Is America afraid of China? They start beating their chests on the slightest perceived human rights case in China while looking the other way when their own Army or their allies are guilty of the charge.Being a neutral(Indian),I think everybody can agree that America performa… more
The question really is; Is America afraid of China? They start beating their chests on the slightest perceived human rights case in China while looking the other way when their own Army or their allies are guilty of the charge.Being a neutral(Indian),I think everybody can agree that America performance in human rights with relation to foreign nations isn’t so clean either. less
8 hours ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
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CherriH
USA is so afraid of China that China’s general had to go to USA to pacify them , assuring them that China’s technologies will ‘never’ surpass USA in sophistication.
6 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
I don’t think that the US is afraid of us, actually I am more worried that they may go ahead and clean us out.
7 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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CherriH
China consider Ai Weiwei a public nuisance than a threat. There are a few “Where is Ai Weiwei?” freebie pins coz nobody really care where or who he is.
9 hours ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
Actually you are a dirty ugly guy that is using a photo of a very famous actor. She is actually Japanese Korean.
7 hours ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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Kenny1973
Yeah, baby!
8 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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ulrich999
May this inhuman political system collapse and may all those brutal supressors be detained and moved to The Hague Court soon.
9 hours ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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Docchoon
Unfortunately so many people are now very influenced by the West and like to speak badly of China being very jealous of it’s progress. We can see that China is trying very hard to be free and making great progress to the jealousy of the West. Why should an artist go into politics and create unrest b… more
Unfortunately so many people are now very influenced by the West and like to speak badly of China being very jealous of it’s progress. We can see that China is trying very hard to be free and making great progress to the jealousy of the West. Why should an artist go into politics and create unrest by supporting those puppets of the West who are trouble makers. If China let this go uncontrolled, there will be riot and civil unrest and even civil war (Chinese past) like what is happening in the middle East now. Maybe that is what the West wants. CNN must be impartial even though they are from US so that more people all over the world will believe in their reporting. I personally watch CNN plus other News channels to get a fair view. less
9 hours ago | Like (1) | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
Hey, don’t worry, just let go….All that stuff that they put in your head as a child is really wrong, they brainwashed you. No one in the West wants any Chinese person to die or suffer, that is already happening in our country. The west wants nothing from the Chinese, the Chinese want something fro… more
Hey, don’t worry, just let go….All that stuff that they put in your head as a child is really wrong, they brainwashed you. No one in the West wants any Chinese person to die or suffer, that is already happening in our country. The wes
t wants nothing from the Chinese, the Chinese want something from the Chinese. less
8 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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CherriH
The West wants to impose their lifestyles, cultures and politics on China.
9 hours ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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cs3yb2i
clearly, CNN wants to fvck anyone who looks at picture and reads article.
12 hours ago | Like (2) | Report abuse
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cs3yb2l
sorry, I actually really love Ai’s work, actually my mom in Chengdu wants me to get his autograph and I want one of his pieces.
8 hours ago | Like | Report abuse
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YourLord
Fools, afraid of one man, so they should be.
Let the man go, you cowards.
Even animals have better morals.
12 hours ago | Like (3) | Report abuse
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