“I always strive for creative freedom,” Wang Xiaoshuai said. “But it’s become impossible because of the circumstances.” Olivia Lifungula for The New York Times

Wang Xiaoshuai is among the few Chinese artists who refuse to bend to state limitations. Like many of his contemporaries, he remembers the Communist Party’s harsh grip on creative expression. Recently, he saw that history begin to repeat itself: Beijing ordered him to withdraw his latest film from the Berlin International Film Festival or face the consequences.

Lives lived: Richard Serra was a sculptor who created steel structures so vast they had to be walked through to be fully experienced. He died at 85.

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