@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz

"Non-violent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas. 

Every one of us is a potential convict." Ai Weiwei

Alcatraz Island -- historically a military fortress, federal penitentiary, Native American heritage site, national park, and now the site of seven installations about human rights and freedom of expression by Chinese architect, artist and activist, Ai Weiwei. Unable to leave China after imprisonment and passport confiscation by the Chinese government, he conceived and oversaw the creation of this exhibit in absentia.

In a cavernous empty building are 176 portraits of political prisoners from around the world. Their portraits are made of brightly colored LEGOs and stare up at you from the floor. Above are Reza Shahabi, serving six years in a Tehran prison and Shin Suk-ja, a South Korean woman indefinitely detained until her death from hepatitis.

In cell block A, visitors can listen to recordings of words and music by people imprisoned for their creative expression. My third image is a black hallway down a steep set of stairs in the center of cell block A, symbolizing for me the isolation and unknown future of the people immortalized by Weiwei.

In the final installation in the prison dining hall, we're invited to sit down and correspond directly to some of the prisoners on pre-addressed postcards . . . a very emotional experience.

The exhibit runs now through April 27, 2015.

More on Ai Weiwei:
http://www.for-site.org/project/ai-weiwei-alcatraz/

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/05/24/its-not-beautiful

Ai Weiwei @ Large on Alcatraz

"With Wind"
I cannot stop thinking about this and the other installations and their messages of human rights.
Bravo to Artist Ai Weiwei for the art the speaks so eloquently, the FOR-SITE Foundation for their vision, and the National Park Service for providing the appropriate venue for this experience.  Please see Cathy's earlier post with more info.

AND GO!

@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz

“The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.”
— Ai Weiwei

This exhibit/installation is incredible! The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is internationally renowned for work that defies the distinction between art and activism. In this exhibition of new works created specifically for Alcatraz, Ai responds to the island’s layered legacy as a 19th-century military fortress, a notorious federal penitentiary, a site of Native American heritage and protest, and now one of America’s most visited national parks. Revealing new perspectives on Alcatraz, the exhibition raises questions about freedom of expression and human rights that resonate far beyond this particular place.

Read more about it at: http://www.for-site.org/project/ai-weiwei-alcatraz/

Hometown Tourist

I have lived in the Bay Area all my life. I have been to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park many times but learned about things I had never noticed when I went there on a San Francisco City Guides tour. This tour lead by a very knowledgeable volunteer was great. They give free tours of places all over the city.

I had never been to Alcatraz and finally made it over to the "rock". The Alcatraz Historic Gardens Project preserves, rebuilds, and maintains the gardens created by those who lived on the island, and interprets their history. They have docent led tours that explain the gardens and tell the amazing story of the restoration.