Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.
AI WEIWEIFor me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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It’s not really an ideology, but a method of control. But China’s problems are not just China’s problems – they’re human problems. Humanity has always worked better when you see it as one.
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I want people to see their own power.
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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.
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[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.
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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.
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The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it…it’s very disturbing.
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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That’s dangerous for human development.
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Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one’s imagination – perhaps more importantly – creativity is the power to act.
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The Internet changes the structure of society all the time — this massiveness made of individuals.
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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.
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It is to wonder about the world, to understand the nature of people and, most importantly, to be shared with another, old or young, known or unknown.
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The rest of the world understands little about China’s changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
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Maybe [success] is because I’m in China and I’m more open. Maybe it’s my independent behavior, or because I participated in certain projects. I have no idea.
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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.
AI WEIWEI