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.
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.
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.
The motivation is really to say people can find the game of getting involved interesting and find the problem and really have the passion and the enthusiasm to solve it and move forward, but that’s all I know.
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. Art should live in the heart of the people.
![Ai Weiwei Quote - 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.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/i-think-the-pearls-one-is-a-necklace-and-another-y-683x1024.jpg)
![Ai Weiwei Quote - I 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.](https://minimalistquotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/i-came-back-to-beijing-because-thats-the-only-time-683x1024.jpg)
