We are not on – even just a step away from the most brutal and primitive crudity. To be very crude on those issues, which is always challenges and we always have to look at the situation like a mirror, to draw some understanding.
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
-
-
We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.
AI WEIWEI -
If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?
AI WEIWEI -
The so-called culture nowadays is only a fake one with a superficial front. It is an empty lie.
AI WEIWEI -
I loved New York — every inch of it. It was a little bit scary at that time, but still, the excitement was so strong — visually and intellectually. It was like a monster.
AI WEIWEI -
I will bring 1,001 Chinese to participate as my artwork there – any Chinese who is a Chinese passport holder and over eighteen years old could apply through my blog.
AI WEIWEI -
[Being unique] gives so much privilege to people who can make it, rather than having some moral and aesthetic discussions.
AI WEIWEI -
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 -
I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
AI WEIWEI -
It also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
AI WEIWEI -
I think Donald Trump should cool down a little bit. To pay more attention to the history. To really understand what U.S.’s value is about. I think, as a president, those things you always have to ask.
AI WEIWEI -
There’s no such thing as “fixed” culture. China is also becoming more global. Its problems are becoming international problems, becoming German problems, becoming American problems.
AI WEIWEI -
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.
AI WEIWEI -
Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers can delay that freedom, but they cannot stop it.
AI WEIWEI -
To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling.
AI WEIWEI -
When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That’s dangerous for human development.
AI WEIWEI -
And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
AI WEIWEI -
A clear understanding of such differences will help the rest of the world understand China and all that is happening to the nation.
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 -
Today, we jump into this globalization of the economy and the internet age.
AI WEIWEI -
People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China’s relationship with the outside world.
AI WEIWEI -
I think it’s quite narrow-minded. There wasn’t much encouragement or opportunities for any artist – not just Chinese artists.
AI WEIWEI -
…photographs are facts, but not necessarily true… The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.
AI WEIWEI -
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
AI WEIWEI -
What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.
AI WEIWEI -
As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am.
AI WEIWEI -
I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That’s the beauty of the Internet Age.
AI WEIWEI