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I’m just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.

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
[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.
AI WEIWEI

Affair Care Culture Daily Understand
As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am.
AI WEIWEI

Art Communicate Lonely Long Opinion Person Realize
If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.
AI WEIWEI

Face Future Nation Past
The people will always have the last word – even if someone has a very weak, quiet voice. Such power will collapse because of a whisper.
AI WEIWEI

Collapse Lst People Power Someone Very Weak Whisper Word
Any politician who respects China’s government should tell it openly what is in his heart. It is disrespectful to keep quiet about such issues – both vis-a-vis the government and the people concerned.
AI WEIWEI

Disrespectful Government Heart Issues Openly Politician Respect
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
I always want people to be confused, to be shocked or realize something later.
AI WEIWEI

Confuse Confused Later People Realize Something Want
I’m doing quite a few things now. In one day, I will go to Kassel, Germany, for a documentary project I’ve been preparing for half a year.
AI WEIWEI

Art Chinese Country Documentary Few Prepared Project Quite Thing Year
Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
AI WEIWEI

Country Freedom Heart More Powerful Take
If people are being abused or even killed during an arrest, this is highly disturbing.
AI WEIWEI

Abused Arrest Disturbing During High Killed People
I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.
AI WEIWEI

Become Born More Radical
The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society’s level of civilization.
AI WEIWEI

Civilization Freedom Important Level Society Speech
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

Anger Bridge Burn Injustice Release Tension Unless Victim
Maybe being powerful means to be fragile.
AI WEIWEI

Fragile Mean Powerful Recovery
Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
AI WEIWEI

Application Art Look School Statistic Student Ten Thousand
For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Giving Up Intellectual Mean Needed Responsibility Social
Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
AI WEIWEI

Anything High Market Mean Purely Selling
The rest of the world understands little about China’s changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
AI WEIWEI

Country Crises Little Possibility Rest Understand World
Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.
AI WEIWEI

Democracy Education Material Soil Universal Wealth
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
By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.
AI WEIWEI

Condition Participating Relate Society Understand Way World
Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?
AI WEIWEI

Cathedral Hand Mass People Production Pyramid
I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
AI WEIWEI

Beautiful Called Craftsmanship Interested Material Mean Perfect Useless
The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
AI WEIWEI

Country Experience Expression Individual Responsibility Right Understanding
These are nonviolent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas….In truth, they are heroes of our time.
AI WEIWEI

Expressed Freedom Hero Idea Lost Nonviolent People Truth
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
AI WEIWEI

Free Life Live Single Speech Vain

I’m just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.

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I’m just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.

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