Right now we are celebrating the official opening of the exhibition "so sorry" of Ai Weiwei in Munich’s Haus der Kunst. China’s most well known artist in the Western World and the Internet is an icon of our times. As a controversially perceived political human being he is pointing at structural violence.
The expression: "So sorry" probably the most used non-F-word by people with marginal or no proficiency in the English language is a strong account for these kind of violence.
If you say: "I am sorry" you usually admit that you did something wrong and you ask the ones being affected by your wrong behaviour and actions for forgiveness. In order to be forgiven you have to understand what was wrong and as a consequence of regretting your shortcomings you have to change your behaviour, to stop your misguided actions and to try to prevent future failures.
If you just say: "I am sorry" (without really meaning it, i.e. understanding the concept of forgiving) and continue with your mistakes consciously, because you have the power to do so. The ones affected will not be able to forgive you; they will be frustrated, will lose trust and will seek to restore justice. If they do so in a violent way, they will also have to say "I am sorry" one day.
Maybe art has the chance to highlight and make understandable problems of structural power and violence in its unique non-violent way.
For now: Enjoy the show.
http://twitter.com/aiww
http://aiweiwei.blog.hausderkunst.de/?p=634
https://blog.aiweiwei.com/
http://www.welt.de/die-welt/kultur/literatur/article4805011/Im-Grunde-hasse-ich-Keramiken.html
