Ai Weiwei’s Millions of Sunflower Seeds Coming to New York


Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s seeds have left London’s Tate Modern and are coming to New York’s Mary Boone Gallery this Saturday. Well, some of them — we doubt they filled Boone to the ceiling with seeds. Don’t expect to play with them either. It’s been awhile since visitors (and naked protestors) ran amok in the Sunflower Seeds, as the porcelain specimens hand-crafted by Chinese artisans have been deemed toxic. Don’t rule interactivity out just yet! Read more »

Send In Your N00dz: Support Ai Weiwei!

Pornography! Here’s latest suspiciously-timed investigation to be launched against China’s dissident artist Ai Weiwei: Ai Weiwei’s assistant Zhao Zhao has been recently interrogated by the police over this timid photo One Tiger, Eight Breasts because it’s porn, allegedly. ”If they see nudity as pornography, then China is still in the Qing dynasty,” Ai tweeted. NSFW. Read more »

Money Thrown at Ai Weiwei Might Be “Illegal Fund Raising”

Chinese citizens are literally throwing folded money into Ai Weiwei’s courtyard. The dissident artist who has days to pay the police $2.4 million in “taxes,” has received $830,000 in donations so far. Now, a Communist-owned paper calls electronic transfers “an example of illegal fund raising.” Uh-oh. Read more »

Ai Weiwei to Fight Charges “To the Death”

After being given just days to pay the police $2.4 million in “taxes,” dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says he will fight the charges “to the death” and yikes, he must mean it. Remember Ai bleeding on a hospital bed after being beaten by cops? Already, thousands of Chinese citizens have offered donations to pay the tab. Read more »

Ai Weiwei Has 10 Days to Pay $2.4 Million in “Taxes,” Ahem Ahem

Remember how the Chinese government attempted to fine dissident artist Ai Weiwei $1.85 million in alleged due “taxes and fines,” while refusing to return Ai’s confiscated company account books, lying that he admitted to tax evasion and never having officially arrested or charged him in the first place? They’ve just raised the bill a mill and a half. Read more »

Ai Weiwei’s ‘W Magazine’ Rikers Spread Is Pervy

Chinese dissident and world’s most powerful artist Ai Weiwei has directed this W Magazine spread at Rikers Island via Skype from his studio in Beijing, because he has a good sense of humor about being kidnapped and imprisoned by the government for 80 days. The “kidnapped” and “imprisoned” model wore Alexander Wang until this happened. Read more »

Ai Weiwei Directs Riot and Arrest-Themed Photo Shoot at Rikers

In spite of being on virtual house arrest in China, world’s most powerful artist Ai Weiwei has directed a cover photo shoot for W Magazine via Skype from his studio in Beijing. Inspired by Ai’s own photos of the 1980′s Tompkins Square riots, the feature stars a fashionable PYT getting kidnapped from a protest, dragged off by grim official-looking types and forced to shower in front of them in a disused part of the Rikers Island prison. Ai thinks that’s funny. Read more »

Ai Weiwei: World’s Most Powerful Artist

ArtReview has crowned it’s ”Power 100″ and there’re a few overlaps with world’s wealthiest artists, Marina the diva, Jeff the big cheesy cheese, Dasha the art world superstar who can throw tattooed crotch at us and park her Russian billionaire’s boyfriend’s laser-shooting yacht anywhere she wants because she’s a big deal, and then there’s Ai Weiwei. Read more »

Still banned from Twitter, dissident artist Ai Weiwei joined Google+ this morning, with “I’m here, greetings” and “Here’s proof of life” messages. Betting pool for how long until he’s censored is now open.

Ai Weiwei to Virtually Teach in Berlin Through Skype?

Dissident artist Ai Weiwei has accepted an honorary professorship from Berlin’s University of the Arts for the course of three years. Since his release, his passport was taken away and he can’t leave Beijing, so it’s possible he’ll give his lectures via Skype. Read more »