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Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.

Ai Weiwei

I think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
AI WEIWEI

Another Five Hundred Million Necklace Pearl Pound Thinking
Society becomes very destructive.
AI WEIWEI

Destructive Society
If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.
AI WEIWEI

Artistic Beauty Choice Choices Expression Freedom Need Participation Society
Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?
AI WEIWEI

Cathedral Hand Mass People Production Pyramid
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
Of course, most luxury goods in China are for corrupted officials and their relatives. And that made China become the biggest luxury-goods market.
AI WEIWEI

Country Course Easy Good Kind Luxury Made Relative
I never think any place is better than others.
AI WEIWEI

Better Place Think Thinking
I’m totally independent. I don’t bear any responsibility to any system.
AI WEIWEI

Bear Independent Responsibility System Totally
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.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Attitude Lifestyle More Producing Realized Symbolic Thing
If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
AI WEIWEI

Act Become Danger Stronger
I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.
AI WEIWEI

Act Everyone Government People Pollution Regret Street Unhealthy Walking Weibo
It is not an easy job to govern China, I am aware of that. There are crises and emergencies all the time, we might not even be aware of some. But I am afraid we’ll have to wait and observe precisely what the government is up to.
AI WEIWEI

Crises Easy Emergencies Government Job Time Waiting
People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It’s an unbearable condition.
AI WEIWEI

Care Condition General Make People Sick Society Tendency
How to become a really modern society when today we are so – as a human being, we feel so powerful. We have high technology and a superb way of controlling our life. And at the same time, in many ways we are so primitive.
AI WEIWEI

Being Feel Human Modern Powerful Society Technology Understanding
But personally, I don’t think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it’s beyond my own consciousness.
AI WEIWEI

Art Beyond Character Consciousness Country Personality Related Think Understanding Work
It’s the place they take you before they give you over to the judicial system. You stay there for a year or two and they make you really suffer to confess everything.
AI WEIWEI

Before Confess Everything Judicial Over Place Stay Suffer System

Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.

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Popular Authors

Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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