Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei
Seattle Art Museum

Ai Weiwei’s latest US museum exhibition, a survey of his four-decade career, came at a particularly tense time in global history. The prolific artist, known for art that comments on human rights and political oppression, presented over 130 works at the Seattle Art Museum (SAM).

“Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei,” echoed the title of Isaac Asimov’s classic science fiction collection I, Robot (1950). While Asimov examined the relationship between humans and technology, Ai deals with related issues of systemic power and the suppression of truth. His defiant yet playful spirit was evident in photographs from two crucial periods in his career: his time in New York during the 1980s and the era following his return to Beijing in 1993. The presentation featured iconic works such as the literally titled photo triptych Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995) and the series Study of Perspective (1995–2011), in which Ai raises his middle finger toward cultural landmarks in China and around the world. The rebellious theme was further emphasized by three versions of Arm with the Finger in Bronze (2000–04), forming a procession to the exhibition’s introductory didactic.