We grew up in a very material-lacking socialist society, but today China is a capitalist society. It’s very materialistic. It’s full of desire and luxury goods.
AI WEIWEIA lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
-
-
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.
AI WEIWEI -
I don’t think China has professional museums – not in the past, present, or near future.
AI WEIWEI -
Hopefully, other successes aren’t like me. It carries much more meaning to other people; my success story is irrelevant. It doesn’t make any sense.
AI WEIWEI -
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 -
It’s very essential values that we all have to protect. But in Chinese society, people are giving up on protecting these values.
AI WEIWEI -
Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
AI WEIWEI -
I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it.
AI WEIWEI -
I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
AI WEIWEI -
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 -
People who can’t do that don’t get a sense of responsibility. And if you lack a sense of responsibility, you push the blame onto the system.
AI WEIWEI -
The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
AI WEIWEI -
Nationality started as something natural, but we should not be restrained by the old politics that make up these clear lines. It should have its own way of evolving. In some places, it will evolve slower and in others, faster.
AI WEIWEI -
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 -
They’ve become part of a conspiracy, collaborators of the crime, which is lying to the general public and trying to hide the kind of criminal acts happening in many cases.
AI WEIWEI -
If it’s possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head.
AI WEIWEI