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If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is ‘art’ for?

Ai Weiwei

A state like China looks so powerful, but they are so scared of the Internet, so the Internet is more powerful than them.
AI WEIWEI

Country Internet More Powerful Scared State
Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.
AI WEIWEI

Democracy Education Material Soil Universal Wealth
If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.
AI WEIWEI

Artistic Beauty Choice Choices Expression Freedom Need Participation Society
I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That’s the beauty of the Internet Age.
AI WEIWEI

Age Beauty Everywhere Internet Nowhere
The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
AI WEIWEI

Burden Changing Responsibility Shoulder World
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
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
Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
AI WEIWEI

Application Art Look School Statistic Student Ten Thousand
My angst and my insecurity reflect the state’s angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.
AI WEIWEI

Angst Insecurity Reflect Scared State
[Being unique] gives so much privilege to people who can make it, rather than having some moral and aesthetic discussions.
AI WEIWEI

Aesthetic Discussion Giving Make Moral People Privilege Rather Some Unique
Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
AI WEIWEI

Everything Liberty Question Right
A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and it can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating.
AI WEIWEI

Created Ethics Historical Mean Moral Revived Society
[Therefore] holding a trial outside the court. I think that is fairness, that is justice, that is a civil society. Otherwise call it an evil society because everything is hidden.
AI WEIWEI

Development Everything Fairness Holding Internet Letting Outside People Trail
The society was so different [in China] – it was a feudalistic society. It didn’t come to a point of industrial revolution until twenty years ago.
AI WEIWEI

Come Country Different Feudalistic Industrial Point Revolution Society Twenties Year
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
Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
AI WEIWEI

Country Freedom Heart More Powerful Take

If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is ‘art’ for?

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If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is ‘art’ for?

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