Ai Weiwei's Name Has Been Removed From an Exhibition About the History of Chinese Contemporary Art
Local government cultural officials in Shanghai removed Ai Weiwei's name from the show just as it was about to open.
Ai Weiwei can't seem to catch a break. Whether it's dealing with a filmmaker deceptively using his name to build buzz around a project, or the ongoing issue of not having his passport and not being able to attend his own exhibitions around the world, there is always some not-so-great news for the artist.
Recently, Weiwei's name and his work were erased from an exhibition in Shanghai entitled "15 Years Chinese Contemporary Art Award." According to the New York Times, Weiwei won the award in 1998 for "lifetime contribution," but he was ousted from the exhibition following failed negotiations between the museum hosting the show and "local government cultural officials." Uli Sigg, an art collector who organized the exhibition, says that they really didn't have the power to resist the decision. "We were not really a party to this...In the end it was the Power Station and the cultural bureau. In the end we said we must accept. We don’t understand but we must accept that his works will not be in there.”
Mr. Siggs also told the Times that he considered stopping the exhibition, but did not find out about Weiwei's removal until minutes before the opening. He then mentioned the omission in his opening remarks, but they were not translated for the Chinese audience.
Ai Weiwei commented on both the removal from the exhibition and the situation with the sci-fi film in which he plays a small role: "I’ve been very involved in Chinese contemporary art, one of the first to make a gallery, make a studio, make underground books...and here my name is erased. On the other hand you have a movie done by a Western person, that I was not so involved in, and they use my name like this. It’s funny when you put these things together.”
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[via New York Times]