{"id":9337,"global_id":"portlandartmuseum.org?id=9337","global_id_lineage":["portlandartmuseum.org?id=9337"],"author":"15","status":"publish","date":"2024-02-01 14:02:08","date_utc":"2024-02-01 22:02:08","modified":"2024-07-25 13:26:39","modified_utc":"2024-07-25 20:26:39","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/event\/ai-weiwei\/","rest_url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/9337","title":"Ai Weiwei","description":"

Circle of Animals\/Zodiac Heads: Gold<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Museum is pleased to present an exhibition of Ai Weiwei\u2019s Circle of Animals\/Zodiac Heads: Gold (2010)<\/em>, on view this summer in the Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Sculpture Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The installation consists of a dozen gilded bronze sculptures representing the animal symbols from the traditional Chinese zodiac.
The artist drew inspiration for the 12 heads from those originally located at Yuanming Yuan (Old Summer Palace), an imperial retreat of palaces and European-style gardens built outside of Beijing in the 18th and 19th centuries by Emperor Qianlong. Designed and engineered by two European Jesuits, Giuseppe Castiglione and Michel Benoit, the heads originally functioned as an ornate fountain clock that would spout water at two-hour intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once accessible only to the elite of 18th-century Chinese society, the garden was destroyed and looted by Anglo-French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War, displacing the original zodiac heads. The seven heads known to exist (Monkey, Pig, Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, and Horse) have all been returned to China. Circle of Animals\/ Zodiac Heads: Gold<\/em> engages issues of looting, repatriation, and cultural heritage while expanding upon ongoing themes in Ai\u2019s work of the \u201cfake\u201d and \u201ccopy\u201d in relation to the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ai Weiwei (born 1957, Beijing, China) is a renowned contemporary artist, architectural designer, and social activist who employs a wide range of media. He has been openly critical of the Chinese government\u2019s stance on democracy and record of human rights violations, investigated government corruption and coverups, and was held for 81 days at an undisclosed location in 2011. According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, he is currently prohibited from leaving China without permission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Photograph<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ai Weiwei\u2019s Circle of Animals\/Zodiac Heads<\/em> collection consists of two series: Bronze and Gold. The installation on view at the Portland Art Museum is one of eight smaller gilded editions, intended for interior display. Another series was produced as large-size in bronze, almost 10 feet high and intended for outdoor display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re delighted to present this important work by one of the world\u2019s leading contemporary artists,\u201d said Brian Ferriso, The Marilyn H. and Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Director. \u201cAi Weiwei\u2019s Circle of Animals<\/em> reflects the Museum\u2019s commitment to the art of today, and it furthers our mission of bringing the world to Oregon. Ai Weiwei\u2019s work reveals layers of history while bringing attention to current economic, political and collecting issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t<\/lite-youtube>\n\t
Ai Weiwei: Zodiac Heads<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Circle of Animals\/Zodiac Heads: Gold\u00a0<\/em>builds on a strong run of contemporary art exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum. In 2014, the Portland Art Museum was the first museum in North America to exhibit Richard Mosse\u2019s groundbreaking installation,\u00a0The Enclave<\/em>.\u00a0Recent exhibitions in the Contemporary Art Series funded by the Miller Meigs Endowment for Contemporary Art have focused on\u00a0significant artists including\u00a0Mike Kelley\u00a0(2012),\u00a0Cindy Sherman\u00a0(2012),\u00a0Sherrie Levine\u00a0(2013), and\u00a0Joel Shapiro\u00a0(2014).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This exhibition is presented at the Portland Art Museum courtesy of Heather James Fine Art, and curated by Brian J. Ferriso, The Marilyn H. and Dr. Robert B. Pamplin Jr. Director.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heather Sacre and James Carona, Miller Meigs Endowment for Contemporary Art, Bonnie Serkin and Will Emery, Jim and Susan Winkler, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and the Exhibition Series Sponsors.<\/em><\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"ai-weiwei","image":{"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-scaled.jpg","id":9338,"extension":"jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"filesize":315728,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":700,"height":467,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":65751,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-700x467.jpg"},"large":{"width":1308,"height":872,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":129077,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-1308x872.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":270,"height":270,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":37781,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-270x270.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":512,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":71331,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-768x512.jpg"},"1536x1536":{"width":1536,"height":1024,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":156677,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-1536x1024.jpg"},"2048x2048":{"width":2048,"height":1365,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":230101,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-2048x1365.jpg"},"small":{"width":375,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":49427,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-375x500.jpg"},"medium-large":{"width":900,"height":600,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":84126,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-900x600.jpg"},"card":{"width":904,"height":565,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":81829,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-904x565.jpg"},"post":{"width":975,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":80809,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-975x500.jpg"},"hero":{"width":1894,"height":1080,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":186768,"url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg-1894x1080.jpg"}},"original_image":"AiWeiwei_Zodiac_DragonForeground_Portland_3.jpg.jpg"},"all_day":false,"start_date":"2015-05-23 08:00:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2015","month":"05","day":"23","hour":"08","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2015-09-13 17:00:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2015","month":"09","day":"13","hour":"17","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2015-05-23 15:00:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2015","month":"05","day":"23","hour":"15","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2015-09-14 00:00:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2015","month":"09","day":"14","hour":"00","minutes":"00","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"America\/Vancouver","timezone_abbr":"","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":false,"show_map_link":false,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"Exhibitions","slug":"exhibitions","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":201,"filter":"raw","id":17,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/17","collection":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":290,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2023-03-28 10:28:29","date_utc":"2023-03-28 17:28:29","modified":"2024-03-07 10:38:06","modified_utc":"2024-03-07 18:38:06","url":"https:\/\/portlandartmuseum.org\/venue\/portland-art-museum\/","venue":"Portland Art Museum","description":"

The Museum is conveniently located on the historic Park Blocks in the center of downtown Portland, which is easy to get around by public transit or on foot. The Portland Business Alliance has installed way-finding signs which direct you to the cultural district, where the Museum is located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parking<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is generally plenty of street parking surrounding the Museum. These spaces range from 1 \u2013 4 hours and can be paid for using a credit card or the Parking Kitty app<\/a>. There are also surface parking lots, and parking garages within 1 \u2013 4 blocks of the Museum. The closest surface lot is located at SW Main St. between SW 10th Ave. and Park Ave, and there are dedicated accessible and van accessible spaces. This lot accepts credit card or the Reef app<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public transit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Getting to get to the Museum by public transportation is straightforward and economical. The bus and streetcar travel directly past the Museum, and the MAX light rail has a stop only four blocks away.\u00a0TriMet\u2019s Trip Planner<\/a>\u00a0gives you step-by-step travel directions from your location by bus, light rail, or streetcar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n