According to Chinese authorities, he is a dissident to be watched, one whose inflammatory blog needed to be silenced. To others, the Chinese conceptual artist, architect, photographer, and curator is loathed and loved for his human rights activism and is the courageous voice needed in today’s repressive China.
In person, Ai’s voice is gentle, almost soothing. Bearded, burly, and 52, he could pass for a robust Chinese Santa who enjoys a good joke. He is known for his deep compassion toward the suffering of both humans and animals, admired for his strategic thinking and his knack for combining art and social projects. Dedicated volunteers, like those with his Sichuan Earthquake Names Project, have risked their own safety for his causes. A perfectionist, he attracts a highly skilled and devoted staff at his studio, FAKE Design, from which he catapulted to international fame as design consultant for the Beijing Olympics “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium, a collaboration with Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron. This all the more gave him a voice that can be heard through governmantal suppression and censorship.
The documentary "Never Sorry" is supposed to be coming to us in February.
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