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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.

Ai Weiwei

I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years.
AI WEIWEI

Citizen Father Party Pushed Writer Writing Young
The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
AI WEIWEI

Anything Art Artwork Happen Winning
I 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.
AI WEIWEI

Association Culture Feel Kind Personality Power Related State Thinking
I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Believe Best Collaboration Made Product
There isn’t a single Chinese university that can invite me to give a talk. Even though I know there are many students who would like to hear what I have to say.
AI WEIWEI

Country Hear Invite Single Student Talk University
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

Artist Forced Giving Opinion Say Something
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

Delay Freedom Human Moment Nature Stupidity Succeed Winning
The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
AI WEIWEI

Burden Changing Responsibility Shoulder World
Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
AI WEIWEI

Censorship Forward Hopeless Insulting Self Timidity Way
There’s no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.
AI WEIWEI

Artwork Feeling Proud Relly Single Think Thinking Want
Now many enterprises are made by individuals, so the attitude has started to change.
AI WEIWEI

Attitude Change Enterprises Individual Made Started
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
They lack any ability to sense what is beautiful or what is proper. They can be learned and skillful, but they lack the ability to make their own free judgment. It is really sad to see young adults of 20, 25 years who were never taught to make their own decisions.
AI WEIWEI

Ability Adult Beautiful Decision Judgement Lack Learned Proper Skillful Taught Young
I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
AI WEIWEI

Journalist Lot Spend Talking Time
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
Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
AI WEIWEI

Everything Liberty Question Right
China restricts the society’s freedom of speech. The Communist Party imposes these limits because it lacks confidence towards the future and has no ideals.
AI WEIWEI

Communist Confidence Creativity Decision Freedom Imposes Lack Limit Party Speech
You’re still being looked at as somebody who – it’s a very complicated issue.
AI WEIWEI

Complicated Issue Looked Somebody Still
Creativity is the power to act.
AI WEIWEI

Act Creativity Power
I have people working together, doing different things: architecture, art installation, photography, publishing, and curatorial works and design.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Art Installation People Photography Publishing Together Working
I think U.S. and China is a big opportunity, to be seen as partner or some kind of strategic partner maybe. But those kind of powers have a way of getting too big, then we’ll have competition.
AI WEIWEI

Country Opportunity Partner Strategic Strong Winning
They very often just try to cope with their own election, their own popularity, solving the problem or selling the ideas to meet their own voters. By doing that, it creates a great imbalance in terms of making deals or treaty or all those things.
AI WEIWEI

Border Cope Create Deal Election Idea Imbalance Making Meet Political Popularity Selling Solving Voter
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

Country Culture Fixed Global International More Problem
I don’t think I was very structured in that society and I don’t really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.
AI WEIWEI

Believe Country Personal Structured Success Thinking
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

Alien Illegal Move Moving Visa Back Year
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
Everyone wants an iPhone, but it would be impossible to design an iPhone in China because it’s not a product; it’s an understanding of human nature.
AI WEIWEI

Country Design Everyone iPhone Product Understanding Want

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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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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