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Artist Research: Ai Weiwei

     Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist. He was born in 1957 and is currently based in Beijing. His probably most famous for his collaboration with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He is also a political activist. He has spoken out against the Chinese government's stance on democracy and human rights.
     Because his outspokenness, Weiwei was put in jail for 81 days without any official charges. His album The Divine Comedy tells the story of his experience with the Chinese authorities. "Laoma Tihua" is my favorite song off the album. This song paints a vivid picture of the police breaking into Weiwei's home and beating him with lyrics like "Why are you breaking in? To teach you a lesson, kid." The album is a powerful way of explaining the experience of a political dissident speaking out against an authoritarian government.

  The Divine Comedy album cover

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