Ai Weiwei Fan-Tan

Ai WeiWei 2017 © Judith Benhamou Huet, Mucem
Ai Weiwei Colored House 2015 © Image Courtesy Ai Weiwei studio
Ai Weiwei Colored House 2015, Savons de Marseille avec la Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789 et la Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne de 1791, 2018 © Francois Deladerriere, Mucem
Ai Weiwei, Circle of animals 2012 © Francois Deladerriere, Mucem
Ai Weiwei Blue and White Porcelain Plate Demonstrations 2017 © Image Courtesy Ai Weiwei studio

The Mucem is hosting Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, one of the major actors on the international art scene. The work of the photographer, architect, sculptor, performer, film-maker and social network activist combines Chinese thought with contemporary art, namely drawing his inspiration from Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. His creations are able to challenge our societies with such force through his transformation of everyday objects into works of art.

Ai Weiwei is the son of Ai Qing (1910-1996), the famous Chinese poet who discovered the West in 1929 on disembarking at Marseille, on the docks of La Joliette, precisely the spot where the Mucem is located today.
This connection motivated the artist to take us on a voyage through time and his art, which he links back to his paternal lineage. Through the new resonances that emerge in this exhibition, we are able to view Ai Weiwei’s work in a new light.

His creations, placed in parallel with the collections at the Mucem, invite us to question opposing notions such as East and West, original and copy, art and craft, destruction and conservation. But above all, the artwork of Ai Weiwei also challenges the relevance of our own interpretations.

General curator: Judith Benhamou-Huet, art critic and exhibition curator
 

Judith Benhamou-Huet

Interview with Judith Benhamou-Huet, curator of the exhibition

The Mucem is hosting Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, one of the major actors on the international art scene. The work of the photographer, architect, sculptor, performer, film-maker and social network activist combines Chinese thought with contemporary art, namely drawing his inspiration from Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol. His creations are able to challenge our societies with such force through his transformation of everyday objects into works of art.

Ai Weiwei is the son of Ai Qing (1910-1996), the famous Chinese poet who discovered the West in 1929 on disembarking at Marseille, on the docks of La Joliette, precisely the spot where the Mucem is located today.
This connection motivated the artist to take us on a voyage through time and his art, which he links back to his paternal lineage. Through the new resonances that emerge in this exhibition, we are able to view Ai Weiwei’s work in a new light.

His creations, placed in parallel with the collections at the Mucem, invite us to question opposing notions such as East and West, original and copy, art and craft, destruction and conservation. But above all, the artwork of Ai Weiwei also challenges the relevance of our own interpretations.

General curator: Judith Benhamou-Huet, art critic and exhibition curator
 

Ai WeiWei 2017 © Judith Benhamou Huet, Mucem

Judith Benhamou-Huet

Interview with Judith Benhamou-Huet, curator of the exhibition

Ai Weiwei Colored House 2015 © Image Courtesy Ai Weiwei studio
Ai Weiwei Colored House 2015, Savons de Marseille avec la Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789 et la Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne de 1791, 2018 © Francois Deladerriere, Mucem
Ai Weiwei, Circle of animals 2012 © Francois Deladerriere, Mucem
Ai Weiwei Blue and White Porcelain Plate Demonstrations 2017 © Image Courtesy Ai Weiwei studio