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Collections Online Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Wanted

Artwork Tombstone
ArtistAi Weiwei (Chinese, b. 1957)
TitleWanted
Date2014
MediumColor lithograph on paper
DimensionsImage: 22 15/16 × 19 in. (58.3 × 48.3 cm)
Sheet: 23 15/16 × 20 in. (60.8 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds from the Thomas T. Solley Endowed Fund for Asian Art and the Clarence W. and Mildred Long Art Purchase Fund, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Accession Number2018.10
This artwork is currently off display. You may be able to see this artwork by filling out an art viewing room request.
A small wanted poster on a green background features two images of a man in profile and facing forward. Large red text reads, “WANTED/ $2,000 REWARD”, while smaller black text reads, “For information leading to the release of Ai Weiwei, whose passport has been withheld by the CHINESE AUTHORITIES. A known social critic, he runs a studio in Beijing, China, devoted to the production of his work, which includes sculpture, installation art, architecture, photography, and film. Height 5 feet 8 inches. Weight about 210 pounds. Complexion medium. Ethnicity Asian. Known across the internet as @aiww.

A small wanted poster on a green background features two images of a man in profile and facing forward. Large red text reads, “WANTED/ $2,000 REWARD”, while smaller black text reads, “For information leading to the release of Ai Weiwei, whose passport has been withheld by the CHINESE AUTHORITIES. A known social critic, he runs a studio in Beijing, China, devoted to the production of his work, which includes sculpture, installation art, architecture, photography, and film. Height 5 feet 8 inches. Weight about 210 pounds. Complexion medium. Ethnicity Asian. Known across the internet as @aiww."

One of the most infamous artists in the world today, Ai Weiwei is also an activist, architect, curator, and filmmaker. Openly critical of the Chinese government, he was arrested and imprisoned for eighty-one days in 2011 without specific charges and later released to house arrest. This print (our first work by the artist) shows a wanted poster with Ai’s passport photographs and an offer of reward but with a twist. Instead of describing an alleged crime, the text appeals for Ai’s release from prison and the return of his passport. The work’s format and conception are based on Dadaist Marcel Duchamp’s 1963 “Wanted” poster. In 2015, Ai immigrated to Berlin, where he continues to work.

Additional Constituents
PublisherFrancis Naumann Fine Art

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Wanted | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=2018.10