genius.

Ai Weiwei

TOKYO— Who is Ai Weiwei? According to Chinese authorities, he is a dissident to be watched, one whose inflammatory blog needed to be silenced. But to others, the Chinese conceptual artist, architect, photographer, and curator — loathed and loved for his human rights activism — is the courageous voice needed in today’s repressive China.

In person, Ai’s voice is gentle, almost soothing. Bearded, burly, and 52, he could pass for a robust Chinese Santa who enjoys a good joke. He’s known for his wit, grace, and deep compassion toward the suffering of both humans and animals, and he’s admired for his strategic thinking and his knack for combining art and social projects. Dedicated volunteers, like those with his Sichuan Earthquake Names Project, have risked their own safety for his causes. A perfectionist, he attracts a highly skilled and devoted staff at his studio, FAKE Design, from which he catapulted to international fame as design consultant for the Beijing Olympics “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, a collaboration with Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron.

According to some, though, his temper can incinerate the best of intentions. He’s been called a headline grabber, a master of borrowing from other artists, and a “scholar clown,” and he’s been denounced for criticizing symbols of elitism and authority ranging from New York’s Museum of Modern Art to the Chinese government to the Eiffel Tower.

There is no question that Ai Weiwei lives his art to the fullest. How best to view an artist of such proportions is complicated.

“Ai Weiwei: According to What?” at Tokyo’s Mori Art Museum (MAM) — Ai’s first large-scale solo show worldwide, on view through November 8 — attempts to reveal the multifaceted nature of this artistic genius by showcasing 26 works made since the 1990s. Some well-known and controversial pieces are glaringly absent, but the exhibition presents six new works, including Chandelier, a satire of the bizarre Chinese state aesthetic in the shape of half a chandelier that hangs in the museum’s entrance lobby.

A second new work presents Ai’s most recent merging of art and activism. Stirred by the sight of backpacks scattered throughout the May 12, 2008, earthquake disaster, in which thousands of children were killed by collapsing school buildings, Ai created Snake Ceiling, a serpentine installation formed from hundreds of new black-and-white backpacks sized for elementary and junior high school students. The coiled snake, suspended from the museum’s ceiling, alludes to aesthetic form, the snake as ancient monster, and the tragedy and systematic cover-up at the heart of the Sichuan Earthquake Names Project, Ai’s guerrilla investigation.

“To protect the right of expression is the central part of an artist's activity. ... In China many essential rights are lacking, and I wanted to remind people of this,” Ai told ARTINFO in a conversation at the Mori Art Museum.

source to continue reading: http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/32223/who-is-ai-weiwei/?page=1

Tate Modern – Ai Weiwei 100 Million Porcelain Sunflower Seeds Exhibtion Shuts Down

To Ai Weiwei’s 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds, we hardly knew you… Just a few days after it opened, officials at London’s Tate Modern made the difficult to close the vast installation by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. The work, simply titled “Sunflower Seeds“, encompassed 100 million sunflower seeds replica made from porcelain, is currently situated at Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, where are encouraged to walk on the work of art as part of the experience. However, with such vast amount in an enclosed space, officials at Tate Modern begin to notice noxious ceramic dust, which forced the closure. Officials at Tate Modern also insisted that the closure was not due to political pressure from the Chinese government, who sees Ai Weiwei as an instigator and political dissident, but solely out of health concern for its visitors. No words on when the exhibition will open again.

source: http://www.freshnessmag.com/2010/10/14/tate-modern-ai-weiwei-100-million-porcelain-sunflower-seeds-exhibtion-shuts-down/

OMG E-WASTE!

As technology advances and we build more and more devices, the number of obsolete electronics in need of disposal is growing as well. The issue of global e-waste is a mounting concern. And as the problem piles up, many countries are finding it easiest to just ship their e-waste overseas.

Source: http://www.good.is/post/transparency-the-growing-e-waste-situation/

TED PRIZE 2011-STREET ARTIST JR

 

JR is a contemporary French artist. He exhibits his photographs in the street that he qualifies as "the largest art gallery in the world." His work combines art and action and deals with commitment, freedom, identity and limits. He has been introduced by Fabrice Bousteau as "the one we already call the Cartier-Bresson of the 21st century".

JR's work resides all over the world: on an entire hillside of a Brazilian favela, on the wall separating Israel from the West Bank, in the voices of Kenya women.

JR’s mind blowing creations have inspired people to see art where they wouldn’t expect it and create it when they didn’t know they could. He’s putting a human face on some of the most critical social issues while redefining how we view, make and display art. JR has moved all of us at the TED Prize. There is no doubt that his talent—paired with the resources of this amazing community—will lead to a wish that changes the world.  -TED Prize Director Amy Novogratz

source: http://www.good.is/post/ted-prize-2011-goes-to-international-street-artist-jr/  

jr website: http://jr-art.net/

 

MEXICO

MÉXICO - 

"Las raíces de la violencia: riqueza sin trabajo, placer sin conciencia, conocimiento sin carácter, comercio sin moralidad, ciencia sin humanidad,  culto sin sacrificio, política sin principios".  -Gandhi

Viendo estas fotos que tome en un viaje al DF con Camille y Mika, amigos franceses que vinieron a México porque creo que nuestra cultura es tan rica que los hizo venir a conocerla y a visitarnos, también con Romina, otra amiga quien estoy segura que esta tan orgullosa de nuestra cultura como lo estoy yo y ve a un México tan fuerte como yo.

No es fácil leer las noticias diariamente, platicar y que salga el tema y enfrentarte a la realidad en la que esta nuestro país en estos días. Nos hace pensar ¿Hacia donde vamos y cómo podemos detener esto?

Tocando este tema, siempre llego a la misma conclusión, hay muchísimas cosas que pudimos haber cambiado para prevenir esta situación. No podemos retroceder el tiempo ahora, amamos nuestro país, su rica cultura, su gente tan interesante, su esencia,  pero ahorita no es tan importante lo que pudimos haber hecho, sino lo que estamos dispuestos a hacer.

Dar lo mejor de nosotros cada día, ser positivos, preocuparnos por los demás, ser agentes de cambio y hacer lo que esta en nuestras manos por un México mejor, es lo que podemos hacer y lo que debemos seguir haciendo para poder ver así un mejor México.

Concrete Jungle.

The city where everything  is possible, yet nothing seems real.

First Post Ever.

"It is a necessity to create buildings that have hope in them’" (Apr/May 2007)

Kenneth Frampton