The AP Interview: Exiled artist Ai Weiwei on Beijing Games
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January 19, 2022
When he was tapped to help design Beijing's Bird's Nest Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, the artist Ai Weiwei hoped the Games and the arena's instantly recognizable weave of curving steel beams would symbolize China's new openness.
He was disappointed. The Chinese dissident widely regarded as one of the world's greatest living artists has repeatedly described the stadium and the 2008 Olympics as a "fake smile" that his native country presented to the world.
Now the Bird's Nest is about to host the Feb. 4 opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics, and Ai expects more of the same.
"As an arc...
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