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Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.

Ai Weiwei

I don’t belong to a working system. They only select people if you belong to one so you can be controlled.
AI WEIWEI

Controlled People Select System Working
For years, I refused to go to any openings, not even my own.
AI WEIWEI

Opening Own Refuse Year
In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.
AI WEIWEI

Deal Democratic Dictatorship Kind Society Totalitarian
I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.
AI WEIWEI

Art Certainty Creative Extend Idea Imagination Thinking
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
If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.
AI WEIWEI

Face Future Nation Past
A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.
AI WEIWEI

Built Content Good Manage Research System Taxpayer Thousand
As long as I can communicate, I’m not so lonely. If I cannot travel, or do art, or have company, if they take away all my belongings, it doesn’t matter at all.
AI WEIWEI

Communicate Dialogue Engage Living Lonely Long Society
After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
AI WEIWEI

China Long Periods
I think it’s more important to show your work to the public.
AI WEIWEI

Importance Important Public Thinking Work
In China, we don’t have any contemporary art museums. Until a few years ago, we didn’t even have a gallery.
AI WEIWEI

Ago Art Contemporary Museum Until Year
The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
AI WEIWEI

Anything Art Artwork Happen Winning
China hasn’t only existed for one day. Now, the whole nation has become richer and it’s become a problem. The problem is universal. The factor is big. Everybody has to rethink the balance of the world and the whole landscape.
AI WEIWEI

Balance Existed Nation One Day Problem Richer Whole World
This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years.
AI WEIWEI

Country Dream Extraordinary Game Gather Moment Week Year
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.
AI WEIWEI

Care Condition General Make People Sick Society Tendency
The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
AI WEIWEI

Existence Freedom Plight Powerful Reality Reflected Spiritual Tasted
Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
AI WEIWEI

Censorship Forward Hopeless Insulting Self Timidity Way
I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable – how we decide what is valuable.
AI WEIWEI

Decide Looks New Shattering Thinking Valuable Way
You only have temporary curiosity, amusement, and challenges, but that does not necessarily mean you are really convinced that it’s necessary or that it’s not even worth to do it.
AI WEIWEI

Amusement Challenge Challenges Curiosity Mean Necessarily Really Temporary
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.
AI WEIWEI

Abstract Care City Country Enough Large Nobody Quite Stuck
We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Forced Giving Opinion Say Something
They’ve become part of a conspiracy, collaborators of the crime, which is lying to the general public and trying to hide the kind of criminal acts happening in many cases.
AI WEIWEI

Case Collaborator Conspiracy Criminal Happening Hide Kind Public Trying
I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
AI WEIWEI

Alien Illegal Move Moving Visa Back Year
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 WEIWEI

Country Director Future Going Moment Outside Priilied Somehow Time
In the end, I think, the state’s rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
AI WEIWEI

End Function Indecisiveness Insecurity Rigidly Thinking
To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling.
AI WEIWEI

Above Beyond Experience Feeling Over People Physical Poetry Reality
Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you.
AI WEIWEI

Art Artist Character Course People Thinking

Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.

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Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.

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