Thursday, June 23, 2011

AI WEIWEI OUT OF JAIL BUT NOT FREE YET

Thanks to all the protests from prominent politicians and citizens worldwide, the Chinese authorities have finally let the great artist Ai Weiwei out of prison.

He is still not free though. He is being closely monitored and can't leave the country or talk about what happened in prison. I'm sure he'll find a way, hopefully, though his rebellious spirit sounds like it's been dampened by this experience, at least to me.

This NY Times article explains some of what happened. But I still say "Free Ai Weiwei" from all limitations on what he can say and where he can go. And free his associates who are still being held (and may be being used as bargaining chips to keep Ai Weiwei quiet).

And free others—artists and writers and activists—who are still being held and kept from communicating with the outside world, like the great Nobel Prize winning writer Liu Xiabo!

4 comments:

Tore Claesson said...

yes.

Harryn Studios said...

and free Art ...
from the ignorance of poor education,
from budgetary constraints,
from the insufferable theories of conservative evolution,
from devalued principles of excellence,
from political oversight ...

E. J. McAdams said...

Hi Michael,
I heard you read an Ai Wei Wei poem in NYC in the last month or so and wondered if that would be published soon somewhere. I keep telling people about it and they want to read it.
Thanks,
E.J. McAdams

Lally said...

E.J. Someone at that reading asked to publish it so I gave them my e mail address but never heard from them. I should send it out and see if anyone's interested. If not, I'll put it on my web site. All of which means it'll be a little while before it's available. Too bad DIA didn't video the reading.