There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
AI WEIWEISay what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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[Shanghai Biennale] has been my attitude for as long as I’ve been practicing art and other cultural-related activities.
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Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you.
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This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
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I have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself.
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To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.
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I’m just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.
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It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product.
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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 a master, a wise and experienced man, wields a great weapon, that’s beautiful. He can serve peace with it. But if someone’s emotions are imbalanced, even if he has the best equipment,
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Even if I have hundreds of things to do, the disconnected feeling is still there because it is very hard to find a real purpose of life.
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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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New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.
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A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.
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I grew up in a desert, which has no kind of imagination.
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So for too long Americans take liberty as granted. We think we are in the safe hand, the democracy and the liberty, which is not true. And it can be even getting much worse than today.
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The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
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Of course, there [in China] has to be chaos. It has to be crazy, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong about it except this government, which is really incapable of doing anything meaningful.
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The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum.
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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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I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
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Life is never guaranteed to be safe, so we better use it while we are still in good condition.
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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 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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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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I call on people to be ‘obsessed citizens,’ forever questioning and asking for accountability. That’s the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.
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It’s just a way you have to set up some kind of activities to follow your instincts or your curiosities.
AI WEIWEI