Ai Weiwei - Hardcover

Uli Sigg

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3836526492 ISBN 13: 9783836526494

Publisher: TASCHEN, 2016

Synopsis

Life of Ai: The artist activist

As his personal circumstances move in constant flux, Ai Weiwei remains a cultural magnet. Renowned for his political activism and social media activity almost as much as for his social interventions, contemporary approach to the readymade, and knowledge of Chinese traditional crafts, Ai’s fame extends throughout and beyond the art world.

Drawn from TASCHEN’s limited Collector’s Edition, this monograph explores each of Ai’s career phases up until his release from Chinese custody. It features extensive visual material to trace Ai’s development from his early New York days right through to his recent practice. Focus moments include his international breakthrough in the early 2000s, his porcelain Sunflower Seeds at the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern, his response to the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, and his police detention in 2011. With behind-the-scenes studio pictures, production shots, and numerous statements derived from exclusive interviews with Ai, we gain privileged access to the artist’s process, influences, and importance.

The book includes texts from Uli Sigg, Ai’s longtime friend and former Swiss ambassador to China; Roger M. Buergel, who curated the 2007 documenta and hosted the artist’s Fairytale piece; and experts on Chinese culture and politics: Carlos Rojas, William A. Callahan, and James J. Lally.

Text in English, French, and German

About this title

Review:

“It’s this type of character, the bold and rebellious artist, that TASCHEN is honoring with Ai Weiwei, the first comprehensive monograph of Ai’s life and work.” --Architectural Digest, New York

About the Author:

Hans Werner Holzwarth is a book designer and editor specializing in contemporary art and photography. His TASCHEN publications include Collector's Editions like Jeff Koons, Christopher Wool, Albert Oehlen, Ai Weiwei, and the David Hockney SUMO A Bigger Book, as well as monographs like the XXL-sized Jean-Michel Basquiat and survey books such as Modern Art and Art Now! Vols 3 and 4. Born in Beijing in 1957, Ai Weiwei is renowned for making strong aesthetic statements that resonate across today's geopolitical world. From architecture to installations, social media to documentaries, he uses a wide range of mediums as expressions of new ways for his audiences to examine society and its values. He is the recipient of the 2015 Ambassador of Conscience Award from Amnesty International and the 2012 Vaclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent from the Human Rights Foundation. Ai's first feature-length documentary Human Flow premiered at the 74th Venice Film Festival in competition. He currently resides and works in Berlin.

About this edition

• Publisher: TASCHEN
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 3836526492
• ISBN 13: 9783836526494
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 600