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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

We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Forced Giving Opinion Say Something
I have people working together, doing different things: architecture, art installation, photography, publishing, and curatorial works and design.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Art Installation People Photography Publishing Together Working
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
I lived there [ in New York City] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Cities New York
It’s like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we’ll be going backward.
AI WEIWEI

Backward Form Geographical Human Mountain Ocean Protected Right Speech
If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is ‘art’ for?
AI WEIWEI

Art Nothing Pain People Sorrow
They very often just try to cope with their own election, their own popularity, solving the problem or selling the ideas to meet their own voters. By doing that, it creates a great imbalance in terms of making deals or treaty or all those things.
AI WEIWEI

Border Cope Create Deal Election Idea Imbalance Making Meet Political Popularity Selling Solving Voter
I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
AI WEIWEI

Achieve Art Freedom Human Important Thinking Weapon
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 think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.
AI WEIWEI

Art Certainty Creative Extend Idea Imagination Thinking
Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.
AI WEIWEI

Democracy Education Material Soil Universal Wealth
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
China didn’t want to lose the cutting edge of technology. So the idea of having a Sina Weibo was an attempt to compete with Twitter. However, it has no soul – which is freedom of expression. Nevertheless,
AI WEIWEI

Attempt Country Cutting Regret Sina Suicidal Technology
Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
AI WEIWEI

Anything High Market Mean Purely Selling
I don’t think my father had a direct influence on me, but I do think, more or less, I was influenced by his independent individualism.
AI WEIWEI

Direct Father Independent Influence Thinking
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
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

Always Art Been Communication Definition Expression Freedom Same Wall
If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?
AI WEIWEI

Kind Law Nobody Protect Society
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

Few Head Morning Noodle Play Possible Project Start Think Thinking
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
Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.
AI WEIWEI

Citizen Country Creativity Decision Detrimental Effect Experiencing
I’m totally independent. I don’t bear any responsibility to any system.
AI WEIWEI

Bear Independent Responsibility System Totally
A small act is worth a million thoughts.
AI WEIWEI

Act Million Motivational Small Thought Wisdom Wise
I don’t think I was very structured in that society and I don’t really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.
AI WEIWEI

Believe Country Personal Structured Success Thinking
The Internet changes the structure of society all the time — this massiveness made of individuals.
AI WEIWEI

Individual Internet Made Society Structure Time
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 WEIWEI

Anything Country Crazy Meaningful Think Thinking Wrong
It’s really rubbish that some kind of “technical” learning means you will be a better person because you know this skill better.
AI WEIWEI

Better Learning Mean Person Rubbish Skill Technical

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ai Weiwei Quotes