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The illumination exhibit was the most striking to me. The treatment of the insane has been, in my opinion, one of the most abhorrent systems in or country's history. These cells, in particular, we very troublesome as they seemed to actually encourage insanity. Their original use was to hold Hopi men who wouldn't send their children to state schools. This punishment was not only disproportionate, it was inhumane.

In class we discuss unjust systems, I can think of no better example than this. Those men, who had already been forced from their lands, were then tortured in the most heinous of ways.

I found the tibetan chants especially interesting because chanting and meditating are typically used as a way for the mind to exist in the body but not be restricted by the body. This symbolism is similar to the assertive nonviolence of Jesus in that it goes around the system rather than through it.

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His father was persecuted by the communist regime, in China. And, Ai is persecuted by the Chinese government, today. In both cases, the greater hatred seems to be from the people rather than the government. There is a systematized hatred of anyone who criticizes the country. He is clearly committed to fixing his country, as he remains in China, despite being physically threatened on a regular basis.

There seems to be a universally accepted truth in China: that the nationalistic aspect of society will never disappear. Even of those who recognize that their is injustice, very few actively protest it. Unlike in our society, there is very little pushing him to continue - other then his own will.

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Ai Weiwei (Chinese: 艾未未; pinyin: Ài Wèiwèi,  English pronunciation (help·info); born 28 August 1957 in Beijing) is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist.[1][2] Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics.[3] As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of so-called "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[4] In 2011, following his arrest at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, he was held for 81 days without any official charges being filed; officials alluded to their allegations of "economic crimes".[5]

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Ai Weiwei, in his "Blossom" exhibit at Alcatraz, transforms a former prison hospital into a display of porcelain blossoms. In doing this, he conveys an interesting message to the imprisoned. And, as an individual who has been persecuted by his government, he has done so with a great amount of empathy. Ai Weiwei presents these flours much like the flours that are typically sent to patients in hospitals, and in doing so he acknowledges that victim aspect of being imprisoned.

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In this work, Ai Weiwei quietly transformed the utilitarian fixtures in several Hospital ward cells and medical offices into delicate porcelain bouquets. The artist designed intricately detailed encrustations of ceramic flowers to fill the sinks, toilets, and tubs that were once used by hospitalized prisoners.

Like in the New Industries Building, Blossom drew on and altered natural imagery as well as traditional Chinese arts. Rather than referring to national iconography, however, the flowers here carried other associations. The work could have been seen as symbolically offering comfort to the imprisoned, as one would send a bouquet to a hospitalized patient. The profusion of flowers rendered in a cool and brittle material could also have been an ironic reference to China's famous Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1956, a brief period of government tolerance for free expression that was immediately followed by a severe crackdown against dissent.

Ai Weiwei Chinese, born 1957
Ai Weiwei Website
is presented by the FOR-SITE Foundation in partnership with the and the . Support for the exhibition is provided by Roger Evans and Aey Phanachet, the Fisher family, and other

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In this work, Ai Weiwei quietly transformed the utilitarian fixtures in several Hospital ward cells and medical offices into delicate porcelain bouquets. The artist designed intricately detailed encrustations of ceramic flowers to fill the sinks, toilets, and tubs that were once used by hospitalized prisoners.

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He is unique in that he was not an artist in the system

He outwardly critiques Chinese society and government