And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
AI WEIWEIArt should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political.
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The motivation is really to say people can find the game of getting involved interesting and find the problem and really have the passion and the enthusiasm to solve it and move forward, but that’s all I know.
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I don’t personally feel any association with a kind of culture related to state, or culture related to power, which I think is always disgusting.
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The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security.
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I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.
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I also have to speak out for people around me who are afraid, who think it is not worth it or who have totally given up hope. So I want to set an example: you can do it and this is OK, to speak out.
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Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
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Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
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Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics.
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We’re different, and you’re dangerous.” That kind of thinking stops human, civilized evolution. It’s dangerous to create that kind of tension.
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You need a purpose to express yourself, but that expression is its own purpose.
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Otherwise, I think the building can be bigger, larger, and the city can be much more crazy. The problem is the government structure is so deadly stupid, not really solving problems but creating a lot of problems itself every day.
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My angst and my insecurity reflect the state’s angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.
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It [success] is really by mistake.
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I think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
AI WEIWEI