Ai Weiwei Sit-In and Related Thoughts

Ai Weiwei at the Tate

 

Earlier today I participated in a protest against Ai Weiwei's arrest and detention in China. To provide a little background of the situation, here's a link to the Frontline profile of Ai, filmed before his arrest. 

The protests of today occurred in many other cities all over the world. Participants were asked to bring chairs and sit in front of Chinese embassies in peaceful protest. In San Francisco, Ai is represented by Haines Gallery, who organized the San Francisco protest.

The reason for this post is not to comment on the clear injustices of the arrest and detention of Ai, nor to discuss the shear courage and inspiration of Ai's work. What made the strongest impression on me was that this happening to a living, breathing human being (hopefully this is still the case). Not an artist, not a political activist. A human being. How differently would I have felt if this were happening to a blood relative? Part of the reason this made such an impact on me was because of how slow I came to this realization. It was not until the near end of the protest and we were asked to stand for one minute in silence. It finally hit me when I observed Cheryl Haines, director of the Haines Gallery, overcome with emotion at the situation.

Although I've been following this story from early on, it wasn't REAL for me until today. The image below is a bowl of sunflower seeds with a picture of Ai from today's protest. Here's more information about Ai Weiwei and the protests from NPR.