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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

Ai Weiwei

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

Democracy Education Material Soil Universal Wealth
Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.
AI WEIWEI

Coincidently Death Dictatorship Stories Story Turn
After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
AI WEIWEI

China Long Periods
It [success] is really by mistake.
AI WEIWEI

Mistake Reality Success
The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
AI WEIWEI

Anything Art Artwork Happen Winning
Everyone of us is a potential convict.
AI WEIWEI

Convict Everyone Potential
I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.
AI WEIWEI

Across Book Bridge Ginsberg Having Traveler Walk
…photographs are facts, but not necessarily true… The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.
AI WEIWEI

Always Care Past Photograph Present Surpasses Today True
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.
AI WEIWEI

Biggest Cheap Country Desire Exporting Field Labor Past Production
Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
AI WEIWEI

Country Freedom Heart More Powerful Take
Hopefully, other successes aren’t like me. It carries much more meaning to other people; my success story is irrelevant. It doesn’t make any sense.
AI WEIWEI

Carries Hopefully Irrelevant Like More People Stories Story Success Successes
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
As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am.
AI WEIWEI

Art Communicate Lonely Long Opinion Person Realize
Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.
AI WEIWEI

Cities Crazy Destroy Enjoy Much Nostalgic
The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
AI WEIWEI

Existence Freedom Plight Powerful Reality Reflected Spiritual Tasted
I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it’s very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.
AI WEIWEI

Art Circle Coming Experience Important Thinking Work
I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who’s like a child.
AI WEIWEI

Child Children Ginsberg Person 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
Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
AI WEIWEI

Engage Expression Living Society Strive Way
Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
AI WEIWEI

Effort Interesting Life Little Make More Much
I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.
AI WEIWEI

Encourage Expressed Idea People Worldview
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
This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years.
AI WEIWEI

Country Dream Extraordinary Game Gather Moment Week Year
Creativity is the power to act.
AI WEIWEI

Act Creativity Power
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
To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.
AI WEIWEI

Express Need Reason Yourself
To the media, I have become a symbolic figure, critical of China. According to the government, I am a dangerous threat.
AI WEIWEI

Country Critical Dangerous Figure Government Media Symbolic

[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

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