If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.
AI WEIWEII came back [to Beijing ] because that’s the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China’s society is opening.
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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.
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[Therefore] holding a trial outside the court. I think that is fairness, that is justice, that is a civil society. Otherwise call it an evil society because everything is hidden.
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Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.
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My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall.
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In China, we don’t have any contemporary art museums. Until a few years ago, we didn’t even have a gallery.
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To give a price to an artwork, no matter how high or low, is always absurd. It’s not something that can be measured by money or by certain numbers.
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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.
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I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.
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Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
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I always want people to be confused, to be shocked or realize something later.
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The intention to separate art from politics is itself a very political intention.
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The relationship between the Chinese government and me is like a Cold War.
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I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.
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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