Ai Weiwei sculpture begins year-long exhibition in Princeton

The appointment of new dean Cecilia Rouse was the most newsworthy change at the Woodrow Wilson School this week, but the addition of “Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads,” a sculpture by the Chinese artist and social activist Ai Weiwei, may be a close second. The installation will be on display in Scudder Plaza through Aug. 1, 2013, and according to Ai’s exhibit website, it was inspired by traditional sculptures “that once adorned the famed fountain-clock of the Yuanming Yuan, an imperial retreat in Beijing.” Ai helped to design Beijing’s Olympic National Stadium and also made headlines in 2011 when he was detained by Chinese authorities for 81 days.