Study in Perspective (Tienanmen). 1995.As some of you already know Chinese artist/actvist Ai Weiwei has recently been taken into custody by the Chinese Government (for more information click here). Those of you local to Portland may remember the exhibition of his work this past fall at the Museum of Contemporary Craft.
For those of you familiar with Weiwei this comes as no surprise given his recent extended house arrest in Beijing, the subsequent destruction of his multi-million dollar studio in Shanghai last November, and the beating he received by Chinese authorities in 2009.
Since his detainment the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has created an online petition calling for the release of Weiwei which can be found here. Others in the international art community have also begun to plan a sit-in protest on Chinese embassies around the globe this Sunday using inspiration from a piece Weiwei did at Documenta in 2007 using 1,001 chairs.
On a more local level PNCA staff member Ryan Pearce and PNCA students have created posters in a show of solidarity and encourage others to print the images for public display.
Please stand up to this offensive act against political and artistic freedom by showing your solidarity!
Sunflower Seeds. 2010.
