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A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and it can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating.

Ai Weiwei

In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.
AI WEIWEI

Abstract Care City Country Enough Large Nobody Quite Stuck
By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.
AI WEIWEI

Condition Participating Relate Society Understand Way World
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
You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.
AI WEIWEI

Criticism Function Money Society Star Turn Work
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 are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
AI WEIWEI

Culture Everything Overexposed Popular Living
I have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself.
AI WEIWEI

Expression Free Respect Silence
To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Call Certain Chinese Condition Country Kind Reflect Yourself
If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense.
AI WEIWEI

Become Giving Up Government Same Saying Thing Thinking
They see how dramatic U.S. has to be put this kind of shame on its own – cannot handle the situation. Or show such a difficulty with this liberal ideas. Men or women created equal. And to defend those very essential ideas.
AI WEIWEI

Defend Difficulty Dramatic Handle Idea Liberal Men Women Shame Show
It’s like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we’ll be going backward.
AI WEIWEI

Backward Form Geographical Human Mountain Ocean Protected Right Speech
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.
AI WEIWEI

Country Democracy Granted Liberty Think Today True Worse
I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
AI WEIWEI

Art Code Design Everyone Open Secret
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.
AI WEIWEI

Disconnected Do Feeling Find Hard Hundred Purpose Real Still Thing Very
The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
AI WEIWEI

Always Fantasy Kind Luxurious Pearl Rareness Unique
So, the politicians and the people who make decisions very often is the one we think can make some difference. But of course they will not make a difference if the citizens or the individuals not push it or not to speak out, to possess a very strong voice about, this is not acceptable.
AI WEIWEI

Acceptable Citizen Course Difference Often People Politician Strong

A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and it can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating.

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A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and it can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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