Tag Archives: Sunflower Seeds

Dust up over Ai Weiwei’s Sunflower Seeds

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And I thought it looked like a fun romp. Silly me. Apparently everyone (like Roberta Smith ) knew Ai Weiwei’s installation of clay sunflower seeds was a potential health hazard due to the dust created when people romped or otherwise interacted with the installation.

Personally, I would sign a waiver to take a run through an enormous hall of sunflower seeds like it was some McDonald’s ball pit on art steroids. But before you get like me, and sniff pish posh on deadly dust, check out these 8 Deadly Works of Art at Hyperallergic.

Romping through Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Modern

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“Last week, we[*] had the pleasure of making the journey out to the Tate Modern in London to experience Ai Weiwei’s latest installation. The contemporary artist from China worked with the village of Jingdezhen to individually mold and hand paint over 100 million ceramic “Sunflower Seeds” which lined the entry hall adjacent to main doors of the museum. Every person was invited to partake and interact with the “land of seeds”. It was a romp for many who jumped, ran, played, and even laid down on the 1000 square meters of hand created artwork. The seed carpet, measuring inches thick, was a veritable playground for the staff of AM as we scurried onto the ceramic play-land along with the hundreds of families and museum patrons that made believe they were on the beach, in the snow or simply relaxing in the park. Ai Weiwei seemed to have captured the imagination of everyone who stepped foot on his seemingly magical creation.”

 *being the author of article at Arrested Motion blog, also the source of the image

The line that really drew me in was “a romp for many who jumped, ran, played, and even laid down on.” I love experiencing art like that–interactively, in my own way. And the fact that it is in Tate Modern‘s spectacular Turbine Hall really seals the deal.  It was at the Tate Modern that I first really fell for contemporary art via Cy Twombley’s Le Quattre Staggione (which later moved to the atrium at MoMA where I saw them again upon moving to NYC). 

I want to fly to London(!), but for now I guess I’ll settle for my blog reader and going to work.

Installation Shot in the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London