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 WEIWEII deal with students every day – from China, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And I’ve noticed that the Chinese students are the least trained in having a sense of aesthetics.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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It [success] is really by mistake.
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New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.
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The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It’s as simple as that.
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The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society’s level of civilization.
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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.
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Growing up, my family was an enemy of the state. I have experienced more disappointment than joy, much more sad stories or desperate conditions.
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I think it’s more important to show your work to the public.
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We literally lived underground. We dug a hole and lived there for years. My father cleaned public toilets, even though he was a highly respected poet.
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In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.
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I also doubt a man can give really clear reasons for anything.
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I have people working together, doing different things: architecture, art installation, photography, publishing, and curatorial works and design.
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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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[Cultural departments] don’t care about culture. Maybe they’re the furthest from the people who understand culture.
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I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.
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We’re different, and you’re dangerous.” That kind of thinking stops human, civilized evolution. It’s dangerous to create that kind of tension.
AI WEIWEI