Seattle Police were investigating a BMW peculiarly parked at the base of the steps of the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park earlier this week. Authority has a nose for dissidence, it seems.
The car, it turns out, is a local repository for a donation campaign to support artist Ai Weiwei after the Lego company refused to fulfill a bulk order of its toy bricks for the dissident Chinese artist. But the car isn’t in the middle of the park to collect cash — instead, supporters are being encouraged to drop in Lego bricks through the BMW’s sunroof for use in Wei’s works:
SAM’s Asian Art Museum has become an official LEGO collection point in support of noted Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei. This site-specific project is inspired by the LEGO company’s refusal to sell Weiwei a bulk order of the tiny toy bricks because of concerns about the political nature of his work.
Ai Weiwei posted about the refusal on Instagram and his post triggered a flood of responses on social media criticizing LEGO for censorship. Thousands of supporters offered to donate LEGOs to the artist, so Weiwei organized formal collection points with major museums around the world: a series of parked cars where participants can drop LEGO donations through the sunroof.
The car will be open and accepting donations rain or shine through January 10, 2016 during Asian Art Museum open hours, which are:
Monday and Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 10 am – 5 pm
Thursday: 10 am – 9 pm
Friday-Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm
Check out #legosforweiwei for updates on the collection project. You can also donate via mail: Asian Art Museum, 1400 East Prospect Street, Seattle, WA, 98112.
Colored Vases, a 2010 work by Weiwei that “slyly plays on the question of authenticity,” is currently on view at the museum. You can learn more at seattleartmuseum.org.
