Quote of Note | Peter Schjeldahl on Ai Weiwei

“How can you know for sure that you’re free? You do or say something, and, if nobody punishes or muzzles you, you are free to that extent. Such seems the logic of Ai’s continual testing of the permissible in China. Considered in one way, he is a freelance clown bidding for status as an entitled court jester. Considered in another, which I expect to prove decisive, he embraces the serious destiny of either a historical hero, if the walls that he rams come down, or a historical martyr, if they don’t.