I always want people to be confused, to be shocked or realize something later.
AI WEIWEISomehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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Everyone of us is a potential convict.
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The United States is a melting pot. Like John F. Kennedy said, it’s a nation of immigrants. But Donald Trump wants to build a fence that clearly makes the statement: “You and I are divided.
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China hasn’t only existed for one day. Now, the whole nation has become richer and it’s become a problem. The problem is universal. The factor is big. Everybody has to rethink the balance of the world and the whole landscape.
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My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate [the two] is itself a very political intention.
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As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am.
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[Museums] all belongs to the cultural department, which is the biggest cultural department in the world.
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So for too long Americans take liberty as granted. We think we are in the safe hand, the democracy and the liberty, which is not true. And it can be even getting much worse than today.
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You can never know what is and what is not powerful, but you can always find out what the powerful people are scared of.
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Nothing is clear-cut. Perhaps I’ll find my way – or get totally lost.
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If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
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I think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
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I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
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Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.
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Now I’ve come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming even more unpredictable.
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You have so many museums in the West, and so many shows, you need somebody to show the work, otherwise it’s empty.
AI WEIWEI