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.
AI WEIWEIIt also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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We grew up in a very material-lacking socialist society, but today China is a capitalist society. It’s very materialistic. It’s full of desire and luxury goods.
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Nationality and borders are barriers to our intelligence, to our imagination and to all kinds of possibilities.
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I don’t belong to a working system. They only select people if you belong to one so you can be controlled.
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If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
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They’ve become part of a conspiracy, collaborators of the crime, which is lying to the general public and trying to hide the kind of criminal acts happening in many cases.
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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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You have so many museums in the West, and so many shows, you need somebody to show the work, otherwise it’s empty.
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I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who’s like a child.
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The intention to separate art from politics is itself a very political intention.
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Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China’s society is opening.
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Any individual can contribute its own belief. And our society or even our government are made by the people. The people would have the final voice, but it requires each individual to act. If we don’t act, then the result is very clear.
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They lack any ability to sense what is beautiful or what is proper. They can be learned and skillful, but they lack the ability to make their own free judgment. It is really sad to see young adults of 20, 25 years who were never taught to make their own decisions.
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[Being unique] gives so much privilege to people who can make it, rather than having some moral and aesthetic discussions.
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Politics is like air and water. And you know if there is bad politics. Everyone is polluted. Everyone is unhealthy. See the people walking on the street: how they act.
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I have people working together, doing different things: architecture, art installation, photography, publishing, and curatorial works and design.
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In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.
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I don’t think China should care if this crazy old guy should have a show here or not.
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Every day I’m learning something new from the practice. It’s very rewarding.
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I lived there [ in New York City] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist.
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If I look at it, I would laugh. I don’t know how I became successful.
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I think to deal with the situation like human crisis, 65 million people being displaced, lost their home, and with such human tragedy, has to make every level of society to be conscious and to be alert about the situation.
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A nation like China has become one of the biggest production fields for exporting cheap labor, which also re-questions our history and past, re-questions human desire, and the human illusions of the past.
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At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year – 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me.
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The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society’s level of civilization.
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I have always stated I designed the stadium as a toilet seat.
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I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years.
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