@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz September 27, 2014 – April 26, 2015 at Alcatraz Island “The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.” — Ai Weiwei 其中一个有5吨重的作品“折射”(Refraction) 是巨型翅膀的模型。它被放置在一个狭窄的通道，之前，持有武器的看守在此监视犯人做工。来访者能够从破碎的窗户中看到这幅作品。而翅膀上闪闪发光的“羽毛”是来自西藏的太阳灶所组成的，支架着一并来自西藏的水壶。 @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz Refraction From the New Industries Building’s lower gun gallery, where armed guards once monitored prisoners at work, visitors peer through cracked and rusted windows to glimpse an enormous metal wing on the floor below. Its design is based on close observation of the structure of real birds’ wings, but in place of feathers, the artwork bristles with reflective panels originally used on solar cookers in Tibet, a region that has long struggled under Chinese rule. Like With Wind on the floor above, this piece uses imagery of flight to evoke the tension between freedom — be it physical, political, or creative — and confinement. The sculpture’s enormous bulk (it weighs more than five tons) and constrained position on the lower floor keep it earthbound, but one might imagine its array of solar panels silently mustering energy, preparing for takeoff. By requiring visitors to view the work from the gun gallery, the installation implicates visitors in a complex structure of power and control. Following in the footsteps of prison guards, visitors are placed in a position of authority, and yet the narrowness of the space creates a visceral feeling of restriction.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Sep 2014 17:58:06 +0000
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