black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.

Ai Weiwei

Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.
AI WEIWEI

Democracy Education Material Soil Universal Wealth
The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China’s future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state.
AI WEIWEI

Children Country Future Issue Job Know Leadership Mean Solve
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.
AI WEIWEI

Accountability Citizen Forever Happy Life Obsessed People Questioning
We literally lived underground. We dug a hole and lived there for years. My father cleaned public toilets, even though he was a highly respected poet.
AI WEIWEI

Cleaned Highly Hole Literally Lived Poet Respected Toilet Underground Yera
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.
AI WEIWEI

Ability Anybody Elite Else Mysterious Ordinary People Politics Separate Understand
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.
AI WEIWEI

Back Beijing Excuse Otherwise Reason Time
There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
AI WEIWEI

Dictatorship Graceful Outdoor Sport Sports Stone Throwing
If people are being abused or even killed during an arrest, this is highly disturbing.
AI WEIWEI

Abused Arrest Disturbing During High Killed People
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.
AI WEIWEI

Come Country Different Feudalistic Industrial Point Revolution Society Twenties Year
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.
AI WEIWEI

Capitalist Country Desire Grew Lacking Luxury Material Materialistic Socialist Today
As a human being, member of society, you must clearly state your mind. It’s a responsibility. It is the way you identify yourself otherwise you don’t know who you are and why you are here.
AI WEIWEI

Being Clearly Human Mind Responsibility Society State Way
I don’t belong to a working system. They only select people if you belong to one so you can be controlled.
AI WEIWEI

Controlled People Select System Working
It’s just a way you have to set up some kind of activities to follow your instincts or your curiosities.
AI WEIWEI

Activity Curiosity Follow Instinct Kind Set Some Way
Any politician who respects China’s government should tell it openly what is in his heart. It is disrespectful to keep quiet about such issues – both vis-a-vis the government and the people concerned.
AI WEIWEI

Disrespectful Government Heart Issues Openly Politician Respect
A society is healthy only when it allows its members to discuss their thoughts openly. This is also the only way that a society can gather consensus, let everyone express his or her wish, and foster creativity.
AI WEIWEI

Creativity Discuss Healthy Openly Thought Wish
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
AI WEIWEI

Free Life Live Single Speech Vain

New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ai Weiwei Quotes