Ai Weiwei was born August 28th,1957 in Beijing, China. He is the child of famous poet, Ai Qing and writer Gao Ying. He is a contemporary artist who creates sculpture, installation, architecture, does some curating, photography, film, and political criticism. Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist who stands up for what he believes in. He has created many abstract pieces of art. He also helped establish the Modern Chinese Art Foundation. He helped design the Birds Nest Stadium where the Olympics were held in 2008. He received a lifetime achievement at the Chinese Contemporary Art Awards in 2008.
He was put into detention for 81 days for tax evasion. Tax evasion means when someone doesn’t pay their taxes or incompletely pays. After he got out of detention he was put into the annual power 100 list by art review. Because he was put into detention the Chinese officials criticized this decision.
He also created an installation based on sunflower seeds. More than 1600 people in the town Jingdezhen were involved in this project. This show opened in October, 2012 in London, England. Ai hired many people to create millions of tiny porcelain sunflower seeds to cover the floors. A film was created about his life story and artwork by Alison Klayman. This film profoundly captures how courage and determination can lead you anywhere. The documentary is called, Ai Weiwei Never Sorry.
– Devon and Eve
