I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
AI WEIWEIThe misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.
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The intention to separate art from politics is itself a very political intention.
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The project or a few ideas which are not finished or if there are possible directions and what will lead into another game. It’s always like setting up some kind of game you can continuously play.
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Nationality started as something natural, but we should not be restrained by the old politics that make up these clear lines. It should have its own way of evolving. In some places, it will evolve slower and in others, faster.
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China didn’t want to lose the cutting edge of technology. So the idea of having a Sina Weibo was an attempt to compete with Twitter. However, it has no soul – which is freedom of expression. Nevertheless,
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Man has a tendency to try to give clear reasons to be rational, but often you can see how all those reasons are not convincing and turn out to be a big nonsense.
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I think Donald Trump should cool down a little bit. To pay more attention to the history. To really understand what U.S.’s value is about. I think, as a president, those things you always have to ask.
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New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.
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This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.
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Now I’ve come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming even more unpredictable.
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I came back [to Beijing ] because that’s the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.
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Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
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Everything is art. Everything is politics.
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Nothing is clear-cut. Perhaps I’ll find my way – or get totally lost.
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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.
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