I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
AI WEIWEIMy definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate [the two] is itself a very political intention.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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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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Creativity is the power to act.
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I spent a lot of time standing on street corners [of New York City] talking to local residents. I spent time in bookstores and galleries. But most of the time, I really did not have much to do.
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China is at a different stage of development, human rights are violated here much more often. And still, we see improvements even here.
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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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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.
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We are not on – even just a step away from the most brutal and primitive crudity. To be very crude on those issues, which is always challenges and we always have to look at the situation like a mirror, to draw some understanding.
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In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.
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Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.
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[Being unique] gives so much privilege to people who can make it, rather than having some moral and aesthetic discussions.
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The intention to separate art from politics is itself a very political intention.
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…photographs are facts, but not necessarily true… The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.
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A state like China looks so powerful, but they are so scared of the Internet, so the Internet is more powerful than them.
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People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China’s relationship with the outside world.
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If it’s possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head.
AI WEIWEI