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To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.

Ai Weiwei

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
AI WEIWEI

Controversial Curated Mean People Shock Trying
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
Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.
AI WEIWEI

Chinese Ever Government never Selected Thinking
No state or society can claim to have established human rights once and for all.
AI WEIWEI

Claim Established Human Right Society State
These folks are creative and ironic, and the government can ultimately not control what is going on in their heads.
AI WEIWEI

Control Creative Folk Government Head Ironic Ultimately
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
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
I was in the most restricted prison in China, the most tough. The design of the prison is modeled for internal crimes of the Communist party, so it’s like a mafia family’s law. It’s independent to the law this nation openly applies.
AI WEIWEI

Country Crime Independent Internal Modeled Most Party Prison Restricted Year
That’s why I always question this sense. The feeling of home really requires a lot of trust. It requires you to identify with it, which I always find myself very contradictory to.
AI WEIWEI

Contradictory Feeling Home Identity Question Require Sense Trust
To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. It’s a very complicated process to do large projects.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Ass Bad Badass Bureaucrats Complicated Criticism Involved Society
There’s no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.
AI WEIWEI

Artwork Feeling Proud Relly Single Think Thinking Want
Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
AI WEIWEI

Engage Expression Living Society Strive Way
I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who’s like a child.
AI WEIWEI

Child Children Ginsberg Person Thinking
During the days in detention, I thought most about the moon.
AI WEIWEI

Detention During Moon Most Thought
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 see how dramatic U.S. has to be put this kind of shame on its own – cannot handle the situation. Or show such a difficulty with this liberal ideas. Men or women created equal. And to defend those very essential ideas.
AI WEIWEI

Defend Difficulty Dramatic Handle Idea Liberal Men Women Shame Show
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 will bring 1,001 Chinese to participate as my artwork there – any Chinese who is a Chinese passport holder and over eighteen years old could apply through my blog.
AI WEIWEI

Apply Artwork Blog Country Participated Passport
Today, the general masses in this society are in this political-social condition that really encourages people to become rich and become a star and be unique.
AI WEIWEI

Condition Encourage General Masses People Society Star Unique
Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.
AI WEIWEI

Chinese Clearly Country Government Potential Problem Trying
Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics.
AI WEIWEI

Ability Anybody Elite Else Mysterious Ordinary People Politics Separate Understand
I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it’s very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.
AI WEIWEI

Art Circle Coming Experience Important Thinking Work
The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China’s future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state.
AI WEIWEI

Children Country Future Issue Job Know Leadership Mean Solve
I don’t think [price] reflects if the work is good or bad.A good artist shouldn’t be nervous about that.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Bad Good Nervous Thinking Reflect
A society is healthy only when it allows its members to discuss their thoughts openly. This is also the only way that a society can gather consensus, let everyone express his or her wish, and foster creativity.
AI WEIWEI

Creativity Discuss Healthy Openly Thought Wish
I call on people to be ‘obsessed citizens,’ forever questioning and asking for accountability. That’s the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.
AI WEIWEI

Accountability Citizen Forever Happy Life Obsessed People Questioning
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

To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.

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To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.

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Popular Authors

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