Lego Refuses To Send Its Toy Bricks To Ai Weiwei, Artist Says

[Little Tich]

Source: Huffington Post

He calls it "an act of censorship and discrimination."

Lego has refused to send Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei a bulk order of its toy bricks, the artist claims, because it “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works.”

Ai Weiwei, a vocal opponent of the Chinese government's iron-fisted censorship, wrote on Instagram Friday that he had planned to use the Legos in a piece on free speech called "Andy Warhol / Ai Weiwei" for display later this year in Australia's National Gallery of Victoria, which placed the Lego order for him.

Just weeks after Lego denied his order in September, he noted, the Danish toy company announced plans to open a new Legoland theme park in Shanghai.

The artist quickly denounced Lego for censoring political work.



Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/ai-weiwei-lego_562cfc9ee4b0443bb5643dd1?section=australia&adsSiteOverride=au

[msongs]

1. art snob can buy them at a store like everyone else. for a "political artist" he seems to not know

the meaning of the word censorship lol

[KT2000]

2. he knows well the meaning of censorship

He was denied a bulk order by Lego because it was to be used in a political work. China would likely deny the Lego company from doing business in China if they fill his order. That is censorship by coercion.
I admire him - he has stood up to power in China. Not many people do that and survive.

[Luminous Animal]

3. He is an artist. And an amazing one, at that.

His father was a poet and his entire family was sent to a labor camp during the "Cultural Revolution" and stayed there for a decade or more. As an adult, his blog was shut down for criticizing the
Chinese government, he's been imprisoned, beaten and terrorized by law enforcement, placed under house arrest, his art studio destroyed, and barred from traveling outside of China. Human rights orgs all over the world have protested his persecution… as has the U.S. Government under Obama.

His art installations are huge. A retail store could not handle that amount. Which is why he put in a bulk order with the company.

[KT2000]

6. +1

[FourScore]

8. +1,000

[JI7]

10. you are always posting ignorant things like this , i don't even know why you are on this site

[msongs]

11. thanks for sharing your opinion. :-)

[hobbit709]

15. I'd say he knows the meaning of the word far better than you.

[TeamPooka]

4. Everyone mail your Legos to Ai Weiwei. nt

[Orrex]

5. China is awash in LEGO-compatible toy bricks

He should have no trouble obtaining his raw materials in-country.

[KT2000]

7. are you sure about that?

Most of the products made for export are not allowed to be sold inside China.

[Nevernose]

9. Not so

I was in Beijing a few months ago. Legos are made there, but then reimported. The official Lego stores are only a couple of years old and are just starting to catch on in a big way. They're also hard to find black market (although legal knock offs are still available, they're still not super easy to find). I thought I'd be able to get a good deal on Legos; instead I discovered they're actually more expensive in China.

(My MIL lives there, and I've had her on the hunt, as well, for a few years)

I'm not defending Lego at all. It's corporate coldness at its most cynical.

[Orrex]

16. Yeah, LEGO is a corporate dick-head worldwide

But I was referring to compatible brands, such as Enlighten, Star Diamond, Sheng Yuan and Qizhi, to name a few.

The packaging for at least several of those brands are printed entirely in Chinese. It seems unlikely that those companies would design their packaging in such a way if their intent were to sell in, say, Belgium.

In short, whatever the artist's complaint about LEGO, there are other options available even in China.

[Bluenorthwest]

19. The artist can not leave China, the art is usually very large and assembled on site by assistants

so the materials probably need to be in Australia, where the gallery is not in China where the artist is. Just my guess.

[malaise]

12. Danish toy company?

Really - wasn't Lego sold years ago?

[olddots]

13. modon ot is wicked pissa

[AngryAmish]

14. Large companies always cooperate with the governments where they sell a lot of stuff.

So, who feels ok with sharing every personal detail with google, microsoft and apple?

And how does that effect who is running for office?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. Does the new Legoland theme park come with a Lego gulag?

[Bluenorthwest]

18. Ai Weiwei installation at Alcatraz Island, 2014. Lego portraits of political prisoners and more...

Photos, video and more:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/sep/24/ai-weiwei-alcatraz-lego-extraordinary

[Eugene]

20. Artist Ai Weiwei to set up Lego collection points

Source: BBC

Artist Ai Weiwei to set up Lego collection points

26 October 2015 Entertainment & Arts

Artist Ai Weiwei is setting up "Lego collection points" in different cities after being inundated with offers of donations from supporters.

Ai has accused Lego of "censorship and discrimination" after it refused his bulk order for bricks for a new exhibition in Melbourne, Australia.

Lego said it has never sold directly to anyone wanting to use its product to make a political statement.

The artist will now use the donated toy bricks to make a "new work".

"In response to Lego's refusal and the overwhelming public response, Ai Weiwei has now decided to make a new work to defend freedom of speech and 'political art'," said a post on the artist's Instagram account on Monday.

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Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-34636319