{"id":275,"date":"2013-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-25T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/ai-weiwei"},"modified":"2025-02-20T08:36:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T16:36:53","slug":"ai-weiwei","status":"publish","type":"films","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/ai-weiwei\/","title":{"rendered":"Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For years, conceptual artist Ai Weiwei has been bringing worldwide attention to China\u2019s authoritarian regime through his artwork and his deft use of social media. And every step of the way, China\u2019s leaders have been trying to figure out how to deal with Ai as he seeks to bring transparency to a traditionally opaque government.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve tried to enforce his silence in every possible way. They track him constantly. They\u2019ve attempted to bribe him. They\u2019ve demolished his huge, newly completed art studio. They\u2019ve beaten him to the point of needing brain surgery. They\u2019ve offered him government positions. They\u2019ve jailed him for 81 days. They\u2019ve shut down his blog. They\u2019ve taken away his passport.<\/p>\n

But nothing can keep the burly Ai down, and nothing can muzzle his irreverent dissidence. Ai, one of the world\u2019s most compelling and appealing activists, is well known for his use of mocking humor. But he means serious business.<\/p>\n

His strength emanates from deep in his roots. Ai\u2019s father, a famed poet, was first imprisoned by the Nationalists, then later exiled by the Communist Party. Ai had a ringside seat to the humiliation heaped upon his father and the difficulties his family endured because of it.<\/p>\n

While Ai\u2019s life under the government\u2019s constant scrutiny has been difficult and sometimes painful, the regime\u2019s actions have only served to help him gain a devoted following around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the cat-and-mouse [game] that the Chinese authorities instigate, Ai wouldn\u2019t have nearly the profile he does,\u201d Alison Klayman, director of Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry<\/i><\/b>, told Wired.com<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Editors of ArtReview<\/i> magazine recently named Ai the most powerful artist in the world. His highly varied works of art draw packed crowds wherever they\u2019re displayed. But it\u2019s his way of communicating about them \u2014 and about his government \u2014 that really keeps his message in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

Ai\u2019s life, like his art, is ever evolving. When the government shut down his blog, for instance, he felt discouraged and helpless. \u201cAnd then some guy said, \u2018I opened a miniblog for you,\u2019 \u201d he told Time<\/i> magazine. \u201cIt was just one sentence \u2014 140 characters. Twitter was like a poem. It was rich, real, and spontaneous. It really fit my style. In a year and a half, I tweeted 60,000 tweets…<\/p>\n

\u201cThis [technology] really changes the landscape of the political situation. In the past, only the powerful could make their voices heard. Today anybody with clear thinking or a special way of understanding will be recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Filmmaker<\/h4>\n

While living in China from 2006 to 2010, freelance journalist Alison Klayman<\/strong> produced radio and television feature stories for media outlets including PBS’s FRONTLINE<\/i>, NPR’s “All Things Considered.\u201d She also began shooting her film on Ai Weiwei, following the artist for three years and gaining unprecedented access to his life and work. The film has been translated into more than 24 languages and has won many awards, including a duPont-Columbia University Award for Excellence in Broadcasting. It was also named one of the top five documentaries of the year by the National Board of Review.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ai Weiwei is arguably the most internationally celebrated Chinese artist of the modern era. But at heart, he’s a troublemaker who challenges the government —<\/span> often done with a wink, but not without serious risk to his own freedom and personal safety.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":10119,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"topic":[1216,1225],"class_list":["post-275","films","type-films","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-arts-and-culture","topic-politics-and-government"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAi Weiwei: Never Sorry | China's Dissident Artist | Independent Lens | PBS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ai Weiwei's deft use of social media has made him one of the most well-known artists and dissidents in the world.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/documentaries\/ai-weiwei\/\" 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