I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.
AI WEIWEIA lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate [the two] is itself a very political intention.
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It is not an easy job to govern China, I am aware of that. There are crises and emergencies all the time, we might not even be aware of some. But I am afraid we’ll have to wait and observe precisely what the government is up to.
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We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.
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I spent a lot of time standing on street corners [of New York City] talking to local residents. I spent time in bookstores and galleries. But most of the time, I really did not have much to do.
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There’s no such thing as “fixed” culture. China is also becoming more global. Its problems are becoming international problems, becoming German problems, becoming American problems.
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The society was so different [in China] – it was a feudalistic society. It didn’t come to a point of industrial revolution until twenty years ago.
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I think U.S. and China is a big opportunity, to be seen as partner or some kind of strategic partner maybe. But those kind of powers have a way of getting too big, then we’ll have competition.
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Even today the borders they’re seeing the physical borders are very different from the political borders. Because all those powers are so connected, and you cannot even see whose interest in what move.
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The so-called culture nowadays is only a fake one with a superficial front. It is an empty lie.
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You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.
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I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.
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Overturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It’s probably the only sport I enjoy.
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I want people to see their own power.
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You need a purpose to express yourself, but that expression is its own purpose.
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And who is going to win the competition if U.S. cannot hold a strong ideology? And even the U.S. would’ve lost the ground to win.
AI WEIWEI