At Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz

by David Spalding (Editor)

Internationally renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is one of contemporary art's most newsworthy figures, noted for both his groundbreaking work and his outspoken stance on human rights, which ultimately resulted in his controversial 2011 detainment. In an astonishing new large-scale project, he turns his attention to Alcatraz—a place he cannot visit because he is not permitted to leave China, but that stands as a world-famous symbol of both incarceration and protest. This book showcases a major exhibition of site-specific, multimedia installations and sculptures Ai Weiwei has created for the island, on view from the fall of 2014 through the spring of 2015. Featuring beautiful photographs and thought-provoking text, At Large is the essential document of this remarkable happening from one of today's most celebrated artists.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

192 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2015

Reviews

[Jeff Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

It started with a dead man on Instagram. I thought it was someone pranking an exhibit. It was a fiberglass man face down in the middle of the funerary exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. It was part of the 28Chinese exhibit at the Asian Art Museum this summer. Instead of having the artwork in a separate gallery space, as they typically do for special exhibits, these pieces were interspersed throughout the gallery. It was Ai Weiwei made of fiberglass. The Death of Marat is what it read. It's this version of Chinese subversive art that I found fascinating. In order to provoke, the artist must first describe the culture all in one image.

@Large was an exhibition staged in Alcatraz as Ai Weiwei is forbidden to leave his native China. A subversive artist, this display centers political prisoners and the feeling of being confined. The Dragon Kite normally set free in the skies is now confined inside prison walls (With Wind). Those voices who seek to change broken government throughout the word are silenced in Stay Tuned. The editor David Spalding has punctuated the book with a great history on the artist as well as comparing him to those who forced political change such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mario Savio. Excerpts of their works are included at the end. An art book is never the same as experiencing the art itself in its environment (especially powerful in this exhibit), but this book introduces the artist with a provocative exhibit. It will help inform the world of Ai Weiwei and raise awareness for others in his situation.

[Jojo]

Last year I visited Alcatraz and saw Ai Weiwei's art work all over the island. It is amazing and beautiful. I would love to learn more about his art, and himself.

[Joanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skipped about. It talks about a lot of “historical dissenters” and puts art in Alcatraz. I found the images fascinating. I think it needs more organization and planning, or a better title to not throw off readers, but what can I say? I found this at the Dollar Tree.