By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.
AI WEIWEISelf-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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The so-called culture nowadays is only a fake one with a superficial front. It is an empty lie.
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I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.
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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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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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I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
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So for too long Americans take liberty as granted. We think we are in the safe hand, the democracy and the liberty, which is not true. And it can be even getting much worse than today.
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Choices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?
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I think everybody deserves freedom. Freedom is such an abstract word, but it’s all we need.
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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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We’re different, and you’re dangerous.” That kind of thinking stops human, civilized evolution. It’s dangerous to create that kind of tension.
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When you have strict censorship of the internet, young students cannot receive a full education. Their view of the world is imbalanced. There can be no true discussion of the issues.
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This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
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What counts in the end is what the government does.
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I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it’s very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.
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I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
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