Ai Weiwei's 'Gangnam Style' Dance Video Somewhat Surprises Art World

Ai Weiwei's Remarkable 'Gangnam Style' Remake
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Your first thought is: Ai Weiwei look-a-like. Has to be.

A man of unparalleled power and influence in the arts, a man who has attracted international sympathy by waging a noble war against an oppressive government, a man with a beard like a mountain-dwelling sage simply doesn't recreate a viral pop song by dancing around on camera like a teenager wrecked on first bottle of White Lightening.

And yet the above video, inspired by South Korean pop song Gangnam Style, has been tweeted by none other than Ai Weiwei himself:

Not to mention the emergence of this photograph of Weiwei at his computer enjoying the clip:

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Ai Weiwei's Gangnam Style parody is 4.16 minutes of a 55-year-old man's dignity crumbling before your very eyes or 4.16 minutes of high concept video art depending on your sensibility.

To give Weiwei his due, he does make a nod towards his two month incarceration at the hands of the Chinese government in 2011 by shaking a pair of handcuffs about.

Perhaps by remaking the global internet hit of the moment he is hoping to draw further attention to internet censorship in the People's Republic of China, where raunchy pop videos extolling materialism are generally frowned upon.

Or perhaps he's just sick of being known as that grumpy-protester-beard-guy and wanted to show his more playful side. Quite frankly we don't know what to think.

The best of the rest of the Gangnam Style parodies