[spectre] (fwd) Sign the Petition: Release Ai Weiwei

[shelly silver]

dear all:
how much do people truly know about ai weiwei's activism, blog, etc.?

http://china.blogs.time.com/2009/08/12/ai-weiwei-held-in-sichuan/
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/32619/ai-weiwei-undergoes-brain-surgery-after-beating/

he is not just another artist trying to use caviar activism (is there such a
term?) to further his career.  it seems his strategy has been just the
opposite.  to use his fame to bring attention to issues and voice to people
who otherwise would not have any.  i'm surprised and confused at the
vehemence of some of the arguments above.

liu xiabo, for example, has been sentenced for 11 years.  chinese artists
and activists know that their actions can lead to very serious consequences.
  china would not be bothered to arrest such a high profile artist unless
they saw him as a threat.

to write off what he does as trad-art elitism just doesn't make sense to
me.  yes he's high profile, and no, an unknown artist/activist would not be
getting the attention.  it seems strategically useful for us to bring as
much attention to the fact that if they can disappear such a high profile
artist sparks me to imagine all of the other lesser known people who have
gone the same route.

best,
shelly


On Fri, Apr 15, 2011 at 11:22 AM, marc garrett <
marc.garrett at furtherfield.org> wrote:

> Hi Heath & all,
>
> I remember when you were arrested, and I was one of those who wrote a
> letter of support to the courts.
>
> Ai Weiwei's work, smells of trad-art elitism and top-down, modernist
> orientated laziness to me.
>
> But of course, one cannot judge whether an individual or group are worth
> support through taste alone. If that was the case I would run a mile...
>
> As Rob already mentioned, perhaps anyone deserves help if suppressed - but,
> I also appreciate your criticism around "hyper inflation in the attention
> economy".
>
> I do have my own misgivings about all of this, and like Heath did wonder to
> myself if Furtherfield or myself were in trouble, whether the same kind of
> support/activity would be generated?
>
> Having said this, even though I have grave doubts and distrust regarding
> the hierarchies in the media art field. Who I feel have too easily fallen
> into Darwinist modes of behaviour in the past (history tells me this); this
> is, a different situation and context, but the niggling question remains.
>
> What we're witnessing here, is one form of hegemony battling it out with
> another - a clash of ideologies - and definitely not idealism.
>
> If we do support Ai Weiwei, are 'really' becoming precarious workers for a
> marketing campaign for a greater, neo-liberalist agenda?
>
> like Heath, I have questions...
>
> Wishing all well.
>
> marc
>
>
> >this seems a very similar situation to julian assange.
> >instead of the social network supporting a member of
> >the blood rank, we should be supporting social justice
> >and human rights and those that work using such methods
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Thu, 14 Apr 2011, Andreas Broeckmann wrote:
> >
> > andreas broeckmann
> >
> > can you explain why you are campaigning for this person ?
> >
> > are you sure he not guilty of tax evasion ?
> >
> > does the fact that this campaign is supported by so many elite
> organisation not make you question this campaign ?
> >
> > i didn't note much interest or support in my case when i was arrested
> every time i entered or exited the united kingdom or when i was disappeared
> by the UK secret police and accused falsely of bomb threats at a london
> airport - i was facing up to 7 years in prison
> >
> > this was a result of my work with borders and identity and i still live
> > under surveillance
> >
> > in the similar manner that no one benefits from my rise through the art
> stratosphere, hence no rise or stardom, who is benefiting from Ai Weiwei and
> his hyper inflation in the attention economy ?
> >
> > Ai Weiwei campaign seems a classic case of elite people protecting their
> own transgressions (tax evasion) and profiting from disaster capitalism
> rather than universal human rights and human rights workers, such as artists
> >
> > would there be an international campaign by elite institutions to support
> a independent artist, such as myself ?
> >
> > this seems a very similar situation to julian assange. instead of the
> social network supporting a member of the blood rank, we should be
> supporting social justice and human rights and those that work using such
> methods
> >
> > Ai Weiwei is clearly a member of the international blood rank posing a
> social networker - an astroturfer
> >
> > this strikes me a co-option of the social network for the purposes and
> values of the elite
> >
> > hope you can answer some of these questions
> >
> > hope you are well
> >
> > heath bunting
> >
> >> On April 3, internationally acclaimed Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was
> detained at the Beijing airport while en route to Hong Kong, and his papers
> and computers were seized from his studio compound.
> >> Sign now! we need to reach 100,000 signatures!
> >>
> http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei#?opt_new=f&amp;opt_fb=t<http://www.change.org/petitions/call-for-the-release-of-ai-weiwei#?opt_new=f&opt_fb=t>
> >>
> >> 'The members of the international arts community express their concern
> for Ai's freedom and disappointment in China's reluctance to live up to its
> promise to nurture creativity and independent thought, the keys to "soft
> power" and cultural influence.
> >>
> >> The initiative has been taken working closely with Jerome Cohen, the
> leading Chinese human rights lawyer who is working on Weiwei's case, and who
> believes that this action could be effective.
> >> To support the petition you can link it on your website, on Facebook and
> Twitter sites, in order to quickly reach millions of people.'
> >>
> >> We need to reach 100,000 signatures.
> >>
> >> ______________________________________________
> >> SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe
> >> Info, archive and help:
> >> http://post.in-mind.de/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/spectre
> >>
> >
> > ______________________________________________
> > SPECTRE list for media culture in Deep Europe
> > Info, archive and help:
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> >
>
> ______________________________________________
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