HUFFINGTON
09.30.12
FEATURE_TITLE
Sigg, the top collector of contemporary Chinese art, and an early
collector of Ai’s work, goes further, calling him a “genius.”
ED JONES/AFP/GETTYIMAGES
NURTURE OVER NATURE
True or false: If Ai had been
born elsewhere, he may not
have been an artist.
“Definitely,” Ai nods in agreement. “The place and time we live
in the world has everything to do
with how we define ourselves.”
He may not have been political,
either.
“The cops ask me very sincerely why I’m such a political
person, why I need to criticize
society — they’re genuinely confused about this,” Ai says, speaking this time in Chinese through
a translator to fully convey his
meaning. He apologizes for giving
such a lengthy answer, explaining that he keeps getting asked
this question and wants to be as
clear as possible. The reasons he
gives involve a number of entirely
environmental factors, including
his childhood years spent exiled
in Dongbei and Xinjiang, both remote areas of China. (His father,
Ai Qing, was an esteemed poet
who was persecuted by the government and sent to a labor camp
where he cleaned public toilets.)
“But it’s not enough to under-
Ai drops a copy
of a government
document —
informing him
of the expiration
of his bail term
— in a park in
Beijing on June
21, 2012. Ai
is still unable
to leave the
country despite
the expiration
of a one-year
bail condition
imposed after
his release from
detention last
June.