News
Ai Weiwei Gets Censored on Weibo…Again
"The controls are very strong," Ai told Reuters by telephone. "They (the government) are very insecure, they are not ready for any kind of change."
Sina Weibo
Opinion
Is Twitter Going to Censor? Ai Weiwei Threatens to Quit Tweeting
Yesterday, Twitter announced that it will start censoring tweets in certain countries as a concession to governments as the service expands globally. Some, including Ai Weiwei, are not happy.
![Getting Naked for Ai Weiwei [NSFW]](/content/images/size/w600/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2011/11/ainudity8-home.jpg)
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Getting Naked for Ai Weiwei [NSFW]
BEIJING — When Ai Weiwei's assistant, Beijing artist Zhao Zhao, was brought in for questioning recently, the supposed charges were simple: distribution of pornography. The image in question was "One Tiger, Eight Breasts," a shot of Ai with four young women, all of them naked. I first saw the photo i
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"We Need to Ai Weiwei": The Ai Weiwei Question on Chinese Social Media
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — What has the response to Ai Weiwei's tax case been like in China? We've seen the thrilling surge of netizens lending over a million dollars to the artist, and he recently made a deposit while he contests the bill. The artist has returned to Twitter, posting actively once more.
Art
The Art of Political Memes
Just a few days after I wrote posts on the state of cosplay in China and the street art-like responses to the Wenzhou train collision on Sina Weibo, I found this image circulating around Weibo. What's striking about it is how quickly it leapt from the online world into the offline world. I'm used to
Art
Social Media Street Art Responds to Chinese Train Disaster
A deadly train accident in China becomes a source of social media street art on the highly censored Chinese microblogging site, Sina Weibo.
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Looking at Chinese Social Media: Censorship and Speaking Mandarin (Part 2 of 3)
Is it time for the Western art world to join Chinese social media? That depends on your goals. “I don't see any reason for anyone not directly involved in the Beijing/Shanghai art world to be on Weibo,” argued Robin Peckham. “It's more about back-and-forth in-scene and doesn't have much application
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Time for the Western Art World to Join Chinese Social Media? (Part 1 of 3)
A few months ago, Tom Cruise made waves in both Chinese and Western media by announcing that he had joined Sina Weibo, the popular Chinese microblogging tool used by Chinese and, now, Western celebrities. “We're having fun talking to you and our new friend at http://t.sina.com.cn/” his Chief Informa