WeiweiCam

Last updated

WeiweiCam is a self-surveillance project by artist Ai Weiwei, in China, that went live on April 3, 2012, exactly one year after the artist's detention by Chinese officials at Beijing Airport. [1] At least fifteen surveillance cameras monitor his house in Beijing [2] which, according to Ai, makes it the most-watched spot of the city. [3]

Contents

Description

He described his decision to put himself under further surveillance as a symbolic way to increase transparency in the Chinese government. [4] WeiweiCam consisted of four webcams that sent a live 24-hour feed publicly viewable from the website weiweicam.com. [5] 46 hours after the site went live Ai Weiwei was instructed to shut down WeiweiCam by Chinese authorities. [6] [7]

Reception and legacy

During the time weiweicam.com was live it received 5.2 million views. [8]

WeiweiCam was included in "What We Watch", an exhibition on net art and surveillance, at COFAspace Gallery, UNSW College of Fine Arts. [9] [10]

Until June 30, 2013, WeiweiCam was seen at the Kunstpalais Erlangen, Germany. In the context of the exhibition "Freedom!" the visitors can contact the artist directly via Twitter.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webcam</span> Video camera connected to a computer or network

A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in video telephony, live streaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral devices, and are commonly connected to a device using USB or wireless protocols.

Fuck Off was a contemporary art exhibition which ran alongside the Third Shanghai Biennale (2000) in Shanghai, China. The exhibition's title translates as "Uncooperative attitude" in Chinese, but the blunter English language sentiment was deemed preferable. The exhibition encompassed conceptual, performance, and protest art.

Feng Boyi is an independent art curator and critic in China. His work focusses primarily on contemporary Chinese art, working with museums and displaying art collections. He has worked several times with artist Ai Weiwei, publishing his journals illegally or working with him in exhibitions and has organized many controversial art exhibitions in China. He has been assistant editor of the China Artists' Association newsletter Artist's Communication since 1988. He has also edited and published numerous catalogues and papers on art and established the Artists' Alliance, a major online forum for contemporary art in China. Feng Boyi has been known to be an instigator to the up-and-coming contemporary art movement in Beijing, starting with publishing articles and journals from artists Ai Weiwei and Xu Bing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ai Weiwei</span> Chinese conceptual artist and dissident

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian, and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of China, where he lived under harsh conditions due to his father's exile. As an activist, he has been openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In April 2011, Ai Weiwei was arrested at Beijing Capital International Airport for "economic crimes," and detained for 81 days without charge. Ai Weiwei emerged as a vital instigator in Chinese cultural development, an architect of Chinese modernism, and one of the nation's most vocal political commentators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webcam model</span> Livestream video performer

A webcam model is a video performer who streams on the Internet with a live webcam broadcast. A webcam model often performs erotic acts online, such as stripping, masturbation, or sex acts in exchange for money, goods, or attention. They may also sell videos of their performances. Once viewed as a small niche in the world of adult entertainment, camming became "the engine of the porn industry," according to Alec Helmy, the publisher of XBIZ, a sex-trade industry journal.

Jennifer Kaye Ringley is an Internet personality and former lifecaster. She is widely regarded as the first camgirl. She is known for creating the popular website JenniCam. Previously, live webcams transmitted static shots from cameras aimed through windows or at coffee pots. Ringley's innovation was simply to allow others to view her daily activities. She was the first web-based "lifecaster". She retired from lifecasting at the end of 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caochangdi</span> Urban village and arts district in Beijing, China

Caochangdi was an urban village and renowned arts district located in the Chaoyang District of northeast Beijing at the intersection of the 5th Ring Road and Airport Expressway. Translated as "grasslands" in Mandarin, Caochangdi was home to a diverse group of residents, including migrant workers, farmers, students and artists, most notably, Ai Weiwei. Caochangdi developed into a thriving arts and cultural hub when artists began to move into the area around 2000, attracting international attention similar to the nearby 798 Art Zone. Demolition of the village began in July 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zuoxiao Zuzhou</span> Musical artist

Zuoxiao Zuzhou, is a Chinese musician and artist.

<i>Robbins v. Lower Merion School District</i> Federal class action lawsuit

Robbins v. Lower Merion School District is a federal class action lawsuit, brought during February 2010 on behalf of students of two high schools in Lower Merion Township, a suburb of Philadelphia. In October 2010, the school district agreed to pay $610,000 to settle the Robbins and parallel Hasan lawsuits against it.

The year 2011 in art involved some significant events and new works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests</span> Demonstrations in favor of democracy in China

The 2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests, also known as the Greater Chinese Democratic Jasmine Revolution, refer to public assemblies in over a dozen cities in China starting on 20 February 2011, inspired by and named after the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia; the actions that took place at protest sites, and the response by the Chinese government to the calls and action.

The 2011 crackdown on dissidents in China refers to the arrest of dozens of mainland Chinese rights lawyers, activists and grassroots agitators in a response to the 2011 Chinese pro-democracy protests. Since the protests, at least 54 Chinese activists have been arrested or detained by authorities in the biggest crackdown on dissent since the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. Since the start of the protests in mid-February 2011, human rights groups have claimed that more than 54 people have been arrested by authorities, some of whom have been charged with crimes. Among those arrested are bloggers who criticise the government such as Ai Weiwei, lawyers who pursue cases against the government, and human rights activists.

EarthCam, Inc., based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, United States, provides webcam content, technology and services. Founded in 1996, EarthCam.com is a network of scenic webcams offering a complete searchable database of views of places around the world.

<i>Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry</i> 2012 American film

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry is a 2012 documentary film about Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, directed by American filmmaker Alison Klayman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UCCA Center for Contemporary Art</span> Chinese independent institution of contemporary art

UCCA Center for Contemporary Art or UCCA is a leading Chinese independent institution of contemporary art. Founded in 2007 and located at the heart of the 798 Art District in Beijing, China, it welcomes more than one million visitors a year. Originally known as the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, UCCA underwent a major restructuring in 2017 and now operates as the UCCA Group, comprising two distinct entities: UCCA Foundation, a registered non-profit that organizes exhibitions and research, stages public programs, and undertakes community outreach; and UCCA Enterprises, a family of art-driven retail and educational ventures. In 2018, UCCA opened an additional museum, UCCA Dune, in Beidaihe, a seaside resort town close to Beijing. In 2021, a third site in Shanghai was opened, UCCA Edge. The museum had 385,295 visitors in 2020, and ranked 55th in the List of most-visited art museums in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mass surveillance in China</span>

Mass surveillance in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the network of monitoring systems used by the Chinese central government to monitor Chinese citizens. It is primarily conducted through the government, although corporate surveillance in connection with the Chinese government has been reported to occur. China monitors its citizens through Internet surveillance, camera surveillance, and through other digital technologies. It has become increasingly widespread and grown in sophistication under General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Xi Jinping's administration.

Dropcam, Inc. was an American technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company is known for its Wi-Fi video streaming cameras, Dropcam and Dropcam Pro, that allow people to view live feeds through Dropcam's cloud-based service. On June 20, 2014, it was announced that Google's Nest Labs bought Dropcam for $555 million, a decision Dropcam co-founder Greg Duffy later described as a "mistake". In June 2015, Nest introduced the Nest Cam, a successor to the Dropcam Pro. Support for Dropcam services ended on April 8, 2024.

<i>Sunflower Seeds</i> (artwork) Art installation by Ai Weiwei

Kui Hua Zi (Sunflower Seeds) is an art installation created by contemporary artist and political activist Ai Weiwei. It was first exhibited at the Tate Modern art gallery in London from 12 October 2010 to 2 May 2011. The work consisted of one hundred million individually hand-crafted porcelain sunflower seeds which filled the gallery's 1,000 square metre Turbine Hall to depth of ten centimetres.

Lu Qing is a Chinese modern and contemporary artist.

References

  1. Carol Vogel (April 3, 2012). "Ai Weiwei Takes His Surveillance Worldwide". The New York Times. Retrieved April 19, 2012.
  2. "Orwell, Kafka and Ai Weiwei". The Economist. April 13, 2012. Retrieved June 3, 2012.
  3. Branigan, Tania (3 April 2012). "Ai Weiwei installs studio webcams for supporters and security services". The Guardian . UK. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  4. "Ai Weiwei's #WeiweiCam". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  5. "Ai Weiwei makes statement on gov't voyeurism". CBSNews. US. 3 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  6. "Ai's Weiweicam Forced Offline After 46 Hours". China Digital Times. CN. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  7. "Ai Weiwei 'ordered to turn cameras off'". BBC. UK. 4 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  8. Smith, Marian; Baculinao, Eric (5 April 2012). "After 5 million views in 2 days, China orders Ai Weiwei to turn off webcams". MSNBC. US. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
  9. What We Watch: Net Art and Surveillance
  10. What We Watch Exhibition