

SPIEGEL: Mr. Buergel, you helped initiate a protest after Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's arrest. The artist, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, remains missing, but much of the art world has remained noticeably silent. Why is that?
Buergel: I think that most of them are glad to be rid of Ai Weiwei.
SPIEGEL: Why?
Buergel: Ai Weiwei succeeded in bridging the gap between art and politics, the only person to have done so in recent years. He has a monopoly in this respect.
SPIEGEL: Are you saying Western artists are jealous of his success?
Buergel: Not directly, but there is an unbelievable resentment. Young Western artists are producing works that amount to nothing more than footnotes in art history, and then this Chinese artist appears who takes a totally different approach and makes 98 percent of the art world look very, very old.
SPIEGEL: So it is jealousy.
Buergel: It's something deeper, meaner. Many artists are driven by it without really understanding it themselves. But the result is an enormous passivity towards his arrest.
SPIEGEL: Is Ai Weiwei the last bastion of courage in the art world?
Buergel: We can all imagine what he's currently going through: endless interrogations, possible torture. But Ai Weiwei isn't a victim in the classic sense. He was never naïve, he sought out confrontation and tried to drive a wedge into the system.
SPIEGEL: Is it his own fault?
Buergel: Definitely not. Ai Weiwei is in the right. His arrest is a political crime. That's also why it's so important that the West protests. Yet our artists are obviously lacking in their sense of historical awareness.
SPIEGEL: What should be done?
Buergel: Pressure should be put on German politicians. Artists could take inspiration from Ai Weiwei's creativity. They could tie themselves to the German Chancellery.
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German curator Roger Buergel believes the Western art world should make a greater effort to speak out against the detainment of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.
Protests calling for Ai Weiwei's freedom have been held around the world. Here, a peaceful demonstration in Hong Kong.
A woman holds signs reading "Where is Weiwei!" and "Free Weiwei" near the artist's recently-opened exhibit in New York City.
Despite Ai Weiwei's detainment, his work is being shown as scheduled in the West. Entitled "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads," this exhibit is located in Manhattan's Grand Army Plaza and officially opened on May 4.
Another exhibit of the controversial artist's opened in Berlin's Neugerriemschneider Galerie in the last weekend of April. Here, Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit pays a visit.
Ai Weiwei received renewed attention over the weekend when he was appointed to the Deutsche Akedemie der Künste, the German Academy of the Arts. Klaus Staeck, President of the Academy, at a German debate on Ai Weiwei on April 26.