An Interview with Curator Mami Kataoka Discussing Ai Weiwei's New Exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum
October 7, 2012 marked the opening of Ai Weiwei: According to What? at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. It's an updated version of the 2009 exhibit of the same name, which appeared at Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and it's the first North American survey of the controversial Chinese artist's work.
In the three years leading up to now, Ai Weiwei's life drastically changed, and the public was made highly aware of it. He became more closely watched and subsequently censored by the government — he was beaten by police in a hotel room and had to get surgery, he was arrested and confined for 81 days, and the revealing documentary about his life, Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry, was released.
In our interview with the exhibition's curator Mami Kataoka, we discuss Ai Weiwei: According to What? in relation to the new show and Ai Weiwei's history with Western art and artists.
