From China to Occupy Wall Street: Art is My Weapon

"Liberty" is an expression of art, says Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei, who returned to make his home in China after thousands of students were killed at Tienanmen Square in Beijing in 1989. [ Please watch the full length BBC documentary below]

I was at Occupy Wall Street in NYC in October 2011, and when I traveled to Miami in December to enjoy Art Basel -- I was also greeted by "Occupy Art Basel" posters in shops along Lincoln Road, and in an exhibit building near the New World Center, where an outdoor film festival celebrated 10 years of Art Basel.



"Art is My Weapon" was stenciled onto the front walkway leading up to this year's "American" themed Rubell Family Collection Show in Miami and a large room at the start of the exhibit was filled with Roman columns and military assault rifles and the debris of war, all covered over by thick gold paint. 

Guests were treated to "milk and honey" - Milk that they received from a sterile incubator room and honey that dripped from somewhere above, which could be caught in a spoon or spooned off of a white slab... Art makes you think. 

 
About where we have come from ...

And where we are today ...


Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012, which is the second anniversary of the "Corporate Personhood" decision that gave citizenship rights to corporations to donate to election funds and influence Congress.




I just watched this fascinating BBC documentary about the great Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei.



This is a full length BBC Documentary with Chinese artist - activist Ai Weiwei, who designed the bird's nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics, and brought together a village of 1,600 artists for more than two years to hand make 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds as a tribute to the history of the Chinese people. He experienced the NYC art scene of the 1980's and was fascinated by social protests and the Iran Contra trials. He returned to make his home in China after thousands of students were killed at Tienanmen Square. His modern art often pays homage to the art that was destroyed during Mao's "Cultural Revolution" and also serves to tell the story of today's China with honesty and without fear. ... He is a true inspiration to "Arab Spring" and #Occupy movement artist - activists - and protesters. 

Help to make 2012 The Year Of Change: OccupyWallSt.org

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