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The piece I chose was Refraction located in the Gun Gallery. I chose this piece because I liked how the piece makes you follow in the footsteps of the old prison guards, and you are placed in a position of authority, but also the narrowness of the space creates a visceral feeling of restriction. The piece itself is a large wing made out of Tibetan solar cookers representing the captivity Tibet has been under the rule of China for many years. All of Ai Wei Wei's pieces show be it physical, political, or creative, freedom and confinement from China.  A lot of what Ai Wei Wei's art is representing and the human rights he is fighting for in his own life in China and thousands of people around the world, is similar to the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights we learned about in class

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Ai Wei Wei says the dragon doesn't represents imperial authority, but personal freedom: “everybody has this power.” The individual kites making up the dragon’s body carry quotations from activists who have been imprisoned or exiled, including Nelson Mandela, Edward Snowden, and Ai himself. Around the room are scattered hand made kites, by confining the kites inside a building once used for prison labor, the artist suggests powerful contradictions between freedom and restriction, creativity and repression, cultural pride and national shame.

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Both delicate and fearsome, the traditional Chinese dragon kite embodies a mythical symbol of power. Ai Weiwei unfurled a spectacular contemporary version of this age-old art form inside the New Industries Building. He said that for him, the dragon represents not imperial authority, but personal freedom: "everybody has this power." The individual kites that made up the dragon's body carried quotations from activists who have been imprisoned or exiled, including Nelson Mandela, Edward Snowden, and Ai himself.

Scattered around the room were other kites decorated with stylized renderings of birds and flowers. These natural forms alluded to a stark human reality: many are icons for nations with records of restricting their citizens' human rights and civil liberties.

Ai's studio collaborated with Chinese artisans to produce the handmade kites, reviving a craft that has a diminishing presence in China. By confining the kites inside a building once used for prison labor, the artist suggested powerful contradictions between freedom and restriction, creativity and repression, cultural pride and national shame. He also offered a poetic response to the layered nature of Alcatraz as a former penitentiary that is now an important bird habitat and a site of thriving gardens.

Ai Weiwei Chinese, born 1957
Ai Weiwei Website

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Both delicate and fearsome, the traditional Chinese dragon kite embodies a mythical symbol of power. Ai Weiwei unfurled a spectacular contemporary version of this age-old art form inside the New Industries Building. He said that for him, the dragon represents not imperial authority, but personal freedom: "everybody has this power."

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He paints over Chinese vases and "destroys their culture" because he says they are destroying the country and no one notices

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Ai Wei Wei's father was an enemy of China and was beaten and hated because he was involved in the Communist revolution in China

AI Wei Wei truly cares about his country and would die to get something done.

After he was punched by a police officer in the hotel he wen and filed a lqwsuit against the police and knew he wasn't going to win but still wants to fight the flawed system.

He sits outside while eating just to test the government and throw metaphorical stones at them.

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"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

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 responded 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 raised questions about freedom of expression and human rights that resonated far beyond this particular place.

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Ai Weiwei Chinese, born 1957
Ai Weiwei Website
was 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 FOR-SITE Foundation project team: Cheryl Haines, executive director and exhibition curator; Marnie Burke de Guzman, special projects director; Jackie von Treskow, program director; Alison Konecki, development and outreach associate; Miegan Riddle, development consultant; Jennifer Burke/Industry, visual design; Juliet Clark, writer and editor; Tyler Reed, content manager; Jan Stürmann, video production; Ari Salomon, web developer

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@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz - FOR-SITE Foundation

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"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 The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is internationally renowned for work that defies the distinction between art and activism.

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He watched his father be an enemy of China and was abused and beaten because he was apart of the Communist Revolution

He truly cares about China and would put his life on the line for something he believes in

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Breaks away from culture

Chess player as an artist, waits for opponent to make next move

He designed birds nest for 2008 Beijing Olyimpics