Letters to Pop: 28 March 2015

In all the years I have gone to San Francisco, Alcatraz has never been on my radar. Too many other things to do. But this Spring there was an art exhibit in the prison that was impossible to pass up. The exhibit was called @Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz. It was intriguing on many levels.

First because Ai Weiwei, the artist, is under house arrest in China. He never saw the exhibition space in person. Both he and his father have been imprisoned for having opinions the Chinese government didn't approve of.

Second, this quote was used in an article about the exhibit, which immediately brought images of the birdman of Alcatraz.

“The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.”
— Ai Weiwei

Third, the irony of an art exhibit about freedom of expression and human rights staged in a prison was hard to resist.

Fourth, after all this time, having the opportunity to see Alcatraz was just too good to pass up. Needless to say, I hopped on a ferry and went to visit the island.

It was a powerful experience. The exhibit was scattered through different buildings. My favorite was called With Wind. It was comprised of a massive Chinese Dragon kite. You could walk under and around it. Many of the dragon's body pieces included quotes from political prisoners both dead and alive.

It is hard to show how large the dragon is. It winds all over the room.

The corners of the room have more kites. It almost seems too obvious a statement--a piece called With Wind, where the kites are imprisoned in a room and decorated with quotes from political prisoners. But to see it in person? All the comparisons go right out the window.

Another room is nothing but portraits of political prisoners made out of Legos. Called Trace, it features 176 people that Ai considers to be heroes.

The podiums on the side have information on each person and why they were imprisoned, whether they are alive or dead or died in prison. This exhibit reminded me of the AIDS quilts.

Equally powerful is seeing the little walkway up behind the windows on the left hand side. Armed guards would watch the prisoners work on laundry in this building. Anyone stepping out of line could be shot at will. Here is a view of the tiny hallway and a look at the room through a broken window.

The hospital wing was the venue for an installation called Blossom. Each toilet, urinal, sink and tub was filled with white ceramic flowers. Again, an ironic statement. Delicate porcelain flowers, almost as fragile bouquets against the hard utilitarian surfaces.

Illumination consisted of two psychiatric observation rooms with music piped in. Standing in the center of these rooms you could hear Tibetan Buddhist chants and in the other room was Hopi Eagle Dance music, traditionally used in healing.

The one I found most moving was called Stay Tuned. Here Ai used 12 tiny cells, outfitting each with a single stainless steel stool. You can see just how tiny the cell is compared to the stool.

Walk in, sit down and you hear words, poetry, music or songs by artists who have been imprisoned for their words or who created the music or poetry while incarcerated. Each cell is labeled.