Artist field note

Ai Weiwei

Art as evidence, provocation and public argument.

Appears inChinaPower
Straight by Ai Weiwei
Art Institute of Chicago · Rights may be restricted · Rights reviewSource ↗

05 / 05

Straight

2008-12

Rebar recovered from collapsed schools was painstakingly straightened and laid out like a field. Material becomes testimony when official explanations feel insufficient.

The five in one idea

Ai makes objects do civic work: they ask who controls history, information and the right to speak.