Honest View from renowned Chinese Artist : Opening Ceremony ‘Visual
Garbage’ Says Bird’s Nest Designer / Epoch Times

Opening Ceremony ‘Visual Garbage’ Says Bird’s Nest Designer

By Joan Delaney

Epoch Times Staff Aug 10, 2008

http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/images/stories/large/2008/08/11/74593324_aiweiwei.jp...
Chinese artist and design consultant Ai Weiwei to the 'Bird's Nest'
blasted Beijing's opening ceremonies in his blog. (Thomas Lohnes/Getty
Images)

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who helped design the Bird’s Nest Olympic
stadium, has strongly criticized the Games’ opening ceremony on his
blog, calling it “a vaudeville” and “visual garbage that blasphemes the
spirit of freedom.”

He said the portrayal of traditional culture in the ceremony, which he
didn’t attend, was “manipulated” and “fake."

Addressing China’s communist regime, Ai wrote, “You can possess rights
and control, and put on a grand ceremony…but it won't win the smallest
respect, it won't win any reliable friendship.”

On Aug 11, 7:25 am, Micky Wong wrote:

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:01:18 +0800, bmoore@nyx.net wrote
(in article
<474c5c22-b85b-4b6e-84a3-c268917006e0@j1g2000prb.googlegroups.com>):

On Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:01:18 -0700 (PDT), bmoore@nyx.net wrote:

At his level he is too famous to be touched without the Government
coming across as petty. Leaving Ai Weiwei alone has the opposite
effect of making the authorities smell of roses for being totally
tolerant of high profile dissent. So far Ai does not appear to have
any popular following on artistic style nor in "protest." Ergo he is
a harmless kook albeit an artistically talented one. We will know
what he really is from his future commissions and sale of his works
inside China.

On Aug 11, 5:48 pm, PaPaPeng yahoo.com> wrote: