Ai Weiwei - New York 1983 1993: New York 1983-1993. Chinese, English, German

Photographic documents of an exciting time The Chinese Ai Weiwei (born 1957 in Beijing, lives and works in Beijing) spent the years 1983 to 1993 in New York. During this time he took over 10,000 black and white photographs of life in the American metropolis, which he brought with him, mostly as negatives, when he returned to China. After remaining untouched for years, a selection of 226 photographs made by Ai was developed and exhibited at Beijing's Three Shadows Art Center in 2010. These images can now be seen for the first time in Germany in the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin and in this illustrated book. For the young Ai Weiwei, now the best-known contemporary Chinese artist, his long stay in the United States shaped his future artistic career. In New York, he lived in a tiny apartment in the East Village and was an active member of the neighborhood's artistic scene. In the 1980s, New York was also a place of liberation for intellectuals from China from the repression they were subjected to in their homeland. With his camera, Ai captured the conditions in New York: street battles in Tompkins Square Park, transvestites at the Wigstock Festival, homeless people on the Bowery. There were also portraits of Chinese and American artists and friends. Unique documents of an artistically and politically exciting time were created, perceived through the eyes of an artist from China. With texts by John Tancock and Stephanie H. Tung, curator, Three Shadows Art Center, Beijing, and a conversation between Ai Weiwei and Stephanie H. Tung.

ISBN: 9783942405508
Year of publication: October 12, 2011
Publisher: DistANZ Publishing
Language:

Authors:

• Ai Weiwei

Number of pages: 336

Condition: Used - Like New

Execution: Paperback