Ai Weiwei at Large on Alcatraz

@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz
Copyright © 2015 John Jerney

“Any artist who isn’t an activist is a dead artist.” — Ai Weiwei

Over the years, Alcatraz has served as home to many things: a fortress (during the Civil War era), a military prison, and, between 1934 and 1963, arguably the most famous—or infamous—federal penitentiary in the United States.

Situated in San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz was even the site of one of the most famous political acts in U.S. history. For 19 months, between 1969 and 1971, activists occupied the island in protest of federal policies that sought to forcibly assimilate Native Americans into mainstream society, threatening to effectively end the government’s recognition of the sovereignty of the tribes.

Considering this backdrop, it seems entirely fitting for “The Rock” to now be hosting a major exhibition by one of China’s most celebrated activist artists with @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz. Launched on September 27th of last year, the exhibition remains open until April 26th, giving you plenty of time to catch this important presentation.

Ai Weiwei: The Artist Disturber

As one of China’s better-known contemporary artists, Ai established an international reputation based partly on his work as an artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium—popularly known as the “Bird’s Nest”—for the 2008 Olympic Games.

After this, it probably would have been easy for Ai to continue along the painless path of celebrity artist. But instead, Ai chose to leverage his international visibility to highlight issues related to freedom and human rights, expressing opinions that are, at times, openly critical of the Chinese government.

Things came to a head in May 2008 following an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that caused vast death and devastation in Sichuan province. In response to government delays, Ai recruited and led a team of volunteers to perform a “Citizen’s Investigation” to document the names of school children who perished in the disaster, most likely due to substandard construction.

By April 2009, Ai’s team had assembled a list of over 5,000 names that he then published on his blog (which Chinese authorities promptly shut down within a month).

The Road to Alcatraz

Ai garnered further attention in 2011 after he was arrested at Beijing International Airport and held for 81 days without formal communication or charges. Today, Ai is free within China, but under regular surveillance and banned from traveling abroad. All of which led, in some indirect fashion, to the exhibition we now see on Alcatraz.

Back in San Francisco, Cheryl Haines sensed an opportunity. As executive director of the FOR-SITE Foundation—an organization dedicated to presenting art that inspires fresh thinking about culture and place—Haines decided to approach Ai with the idea of presenting newly-commissioned work in a highly iconic setting. For his part, Ai was eager to highlight the irony of showcasing a politically-charged exhibition focusing on human rights within the confines of a former prison.

Immediately, however, there were issues to resolve. To begin, Ai would be unable to leave China. Further, there could be no changes to the venue—Alcatraz is, after all, an historic site. This forced Ai to incorporate the setting into the art, as Ai’s team relied on detailed maps and precise measurements to remotely produce the installations. This, in fact, represents one of the greatest strengths of the exhibition.

Exploring the Exhibition

Each of the site-specific installations, seven in total, serve as a monument to political and social freedom around the world. Beginning in the New Industries Building section of the prison, visitors are greeted by With Wind, which features a spectacular Chinese dragon kite spanning a tennis court-sized space. A collection of smaller kites stylized with representations of birds and flowers—many symbolizing countries with grave human rights records—encircle the dragon.

The adjoining Trace exhibit is even more dramatic—arguably, the most memorable and iconic work in the show. Laid out on the floor using simple Lego blocks, the faces of over 170 political prisoners appear arranged in quilt-like fashion. Representing individuals from 31 countries around the globe, including China, Tibet, Bahrain, the United States (Edward Snowden is present), and Vietnam, among others, the faces are, at-once, both intricately interpreted and highly pixelated.

The seemingly whimsical and colorful renderings are unexpectedly powerful, providing a searing visual indictment of the incongruity of the ideals of enlightened justice against the all-too-present reality of 21st century political power and structure.

The remaining portions of the exhibition appear in the Cellhouse, high atop the island, which was home to the principal cell blocks as well as the dining hall, hospital wing, and psychiatric observation rooms. Here visitors can see installations such as Blossom—featuring fanciful porcelain bouquets filling sinks, toilets, and bathtubs—as well as Illumination, which now resonates Tibetan and Native American chants in a space formerly used for isolation and psychiatric observation.

Stay Tuned meanwhile invites visitors to sit inside any of twelve adjoining cells in “A Block”—Alcatraz cell blocks were labelled from A to D—and contemplate recordings of the words, poetry, and songs of the politically imprisoned. Each cell offers a completely different experience, ranging from Tibetan singer Lolo, South Africa’s apartheid-era Robben Island Singers, to present-day Russian feminist punk artists Pussy Riot.

Finally, Yours Truly, brings the entire experience full circle by connecting visitors directly and personally with the incarcerated prisoners featured in the Trace exhibition. Using pre-addressed postcards featuring paintings of birds and plants, visitors are encouraged to share a message with the imprisoned that their causes and trials have not gone unnoticed.

As Ai Weiwei notes in his artist’s statement, @Large attempts to present the stories and backgrounds of nonviolent people who have sacrificed their freedom to express their ideas and improve their conditions. “Many of them might stay in jail for the rest of their lives or be forgotten by the general public,” notes Ai, “but in truth they are heroes of our time.”