Of course, there [in China] has to be chaos. It has to be crazy, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong about it except this government, which is really incapable of doing anything meaningful.
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
-
-
We should use this public sphere and redefine – beyond China’s borders – what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen’s privacy begins.
AI WEIWEI -
I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it.
AI WEIWEI -
Liberty is about the right to question everything.
AI WEIWEI -
Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.
AI WEIWEI -
Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
AI WEIWEI -
I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
AI WEIWEI -
I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
AI WEIWEI -
This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years.
AI WEIWEI -
Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one’s imagination – perhaps more importantly – creativity is the power to act.
AI WEIWEI -
I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].
AI WEIWEI -
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 -
Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.
AI WEIWEI -
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 -
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 -
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