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I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.

Ai Weiwei

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
Society becomes very destructive.
AI WEIWEI

Destructive Society
How to become a really modern society when today we are so – as a human being, we feel so powerful. We have high technology and a superb way of controlling our life. And at the same time, in many ways we are so primitive.
AI WEIWEI

Being Feel Human Modern Powerful Society Technology Understanding
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
Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China’s society is opening.
AI WEIWEI

Changing Country Opening Past Society Year
It’s like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we’ll be going backward.
AI WEIWEI

Backward Form Geographical Human Mountain Ocean Protected Right Speech
The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum.
AI WEIWEI

Country Future Government Museums Past Present Professional Year
The Internet changes the structure of society all the time — this massiveness made of individuals.
AI WEIWEI

Individual Internet Made Society Structure Time
Paintings can be painted with the left hand, the right hand, someone else’s hand, or many people’s hands. The scale of production is irrelevant to its content.
AI WEIWEI

Content Hand Irrelevant Left Painting Production Scale Someone
People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China’s relationship with the outside world.
AI WEIWEI

Country Longing Moment Outside People Relationship Symbolises Turning World
But personally, I don’t think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it’s beyond my own consciousness.
AI WEIWEI

Art Beyond Character Consciousness Country Personality Related Think Understanding Work
There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
AI WEIWEI

Dictatorship Graceful Outdoor Sport Sports Stone Throwing
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
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.
AI WEIWEI

Always Control Ideology Country Human One Problem Worked
Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.
AI WEIWEI

Democracy Education Material Soil Universal Wealth
As a total activity – I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.
AI WEIWEI

Activity Architecture Art Living Practice Publishing Together Total Writing

I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.

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I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.

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