Liberty is about the right to question everything.
AI WEIWEIMy angst and my insecurity reflect the state’s angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
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I never think any place is better than others.
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Everything is selected by the central government without good judgment or an understanding of culture to make it really safe. They will become nobody to maintain their power and be raised to the next higher level.
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My typical day is I wake up and appreciate that I can still wake up.
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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.
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This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
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People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It’s an unbearable condition.
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The relationship between the Chinese government and me is like a Cold War.
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Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
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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.
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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,
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I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
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If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense.
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Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.
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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