Dissident artist Ai Weiwei was not in attendance for the opening of his Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads sculpture unveiled today outside Central Park, across from the Plaza Hotel at Grand Army Plaza 5th Avenue and 60th Street. As an outspoken human rights advocate, and critic of the Chinese Communist Party Mr. Ai made enemies in the Beijing establishment and was taken into custody last month. He has been missing since his arrest. You can show your support for Ai’s release by signing this petition and coming to see this inspiring collection of modern sculpture.  Before returning to China, Ai lived in New York for many years, and attended Parsons School of Design.  According to Gothamist,  Ai said in a statement,

“My work is always dealing with real or fake, authenticity and value and how value relates to current political and social understandings and misunderstandings. However, because Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads is composed of animal heads, it’s a work that everyone can understand, including children and people who are not in the art world. I think it’s more important to show your work to the public. That’s what I really care about.”

Last night I attended the Inflatable Sculpture Show @ 3rd Ward. I was curious to check out the show mainly because of the Air Bear sculptures built over the subway grates a couple years ago that swept across the Internet.

The sculptures at the show last night were produced via the inflatable sculpture class that 3rd Ward offers for people who want to learn the tricks of the trade. There was certainly some interesting pieces at the show, although what I missed was the incorporation of motion that was present in earlier pieces like the Air Bear and other subway grate sculptures.

There was one standout piece from the show, a hybrid cross between an inflatable sculpture and projected light art. Looking forward to seeing what the next round of students produce.

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