Ai Weiwei

Beijing Photographs, 1993-2003

Weiwei Ai (Artist), John Tancock, Stephanie H. Tung

$130

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

MIT Press
19 February 2019

Series: Ai Weiwei

An autobiography in pictures- photographs taken by Ai Weiwei that capture his emergence as the uniquely provocative artist that he is today.

Ai Weiwei- Beijing Photographs 1993-2003 is an autobiography in pictures. Ai Weiwei is China's most celebrated contemporary artist, and its most outspoken domestic critic. In April 2011, when Ai disappeared into police custody for three months, he quickly became the art world's most famous missing person. Since then, Ai Weiwei's critiques of China's repressive regime have ranged from playful photographs of his raised middle finger in front of Tiananmen Square to searing memorials to the more than 5,000 schoolchildren who died in shoddy government construction in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Against a backdrop of strict censorship, Ai has become a hero on social media to millions of Chinese citizens.

This book, prohibited from publication in China, offers an intimate look at Ai Weiwei's world in the years after his return from New York and preceding his imprisonment and global superstardom. The photographs capture Ai's emergence as the uniquely provocative artist that he is today. There is no more revealing portrait of Ai Weiwei's life in China than this.

The book contains more than 600 carefully sequenced images culled from an archive of more than 40,000 photographs taken by Ai- a narrative arc carefully shaped by an artist keenly aware of photography's ability to tell stories. It includes a shattering series of photographs taken between 1993 and 1996 devoted to the final illness and death of Ai's father Ai Qing. The book is a sequel to Ai Weiwei- New York 1983-1993, a privately published book that collected photographs taken by Ai during his years on the New York art scene.

By: Weiwei Ai (Artist), John Tancock, Stephanie H. Tung
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 279mm, Width: 279mm,
ISBN: 9780262039154
ISBN 10: 026203915X
Series: Ai Weiwei
Pages: 430
Publication Date: 19 February 2019
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

"Ai Weiwei is one of today's most important and controversial artists. His recent exhibitions include ""Sunflower Seeds"" at the Tate Modern, London, a vast assemblage of handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds; and six fiberglass dioramas depicting his 81-day imprisonment in 2011, shown at a Venice gallery in parallel with the 2013 Venice Biennale. He was a designer of the famous ""Bird's Nest"" stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. John Tancock is an art historians and coauthor of Ai Weiwei- New York 1983-1993. WIth his coeditor Stephanie H. Tung and Ai Weiwei, he sorted through more than 40,000 negatives to select the images included in this book. Stephanie H. Tung is an art historians and coauthor of Ai Weiwei- New York 1983-1993. WIth her coeditor John Tancock and Ai Weiwei, she sorted through more than 40,000 negatives to select the images included in this book."

Reviews for Ai Weiwei: Beijing Photographs, 1993-2003

In more than 600 sequenced photographs, the iconic Chinese artist and dissident provides an intimate glimpse - which China has refused to publish - of the country that went on to imprison him for his criticism. -The New York Times Book Review Ai Weiwei: Beijing Photographs 1993-2003 is a book for fans and scholars alike. It is a diary, and so it has that insight which only reveals itself when you know the public story. If you know the arc of that story, the diary adds tenor, counterpoint and unexpected harmony, as well as dissonance. It's a bit like reading the journals of important authors or looking at the sketchbooks of important painters-a bit like listening to recording studio outtakes. You don't start there. But you get there as fast as you can. -Lens Culture In this follow up to Ai Weiwei: New York Photographs 1983-1993, Chinese artist, architect, and activist Ai crafts a fascinating, deeply personal photographic diary of life in Beijing from 1993 to 2003... Of particular interest to fans of Ai's work, this excellent collection is also a passionate cry for freedom of speech. -Publishers Weekly