I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who’s like a child.
AI WEIWEII don’t personally feel any association with a kind of culture related to state, or culture related to power, which I think is always disgusting.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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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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Whenever there is injustice, there is tension. But in China it is very hard to release your anger unless you burn yourself or you jump from a bridge. In a society where there is no freedom of the press, it is difficult for victims to be noticed.
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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.
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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
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Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one’s imagination – perhaps more importantly – creativity is the power to act.
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This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.
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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.
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Politics is like air and water. And you know if there is bad politics. Everyone is polluted. Everyone is unhealthy. See the people walking on the street: how they act.
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Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.
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I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
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If it’s possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head.
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I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.
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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. It’s a very complicated process to do large projects.
AI WEIWEI