[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.
AI WEIWEIThe museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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That’s why the country can’t face up to open competition – unless it resorts to measures like North Korea.
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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 don’t like China. Even today, I still feel I have no emotional relations with this place.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.
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These folks are creative and ironic, and the government can ultimately not control what is going on in their heads.
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Many people are going to use [Beijing National Stadium], which makes it more meaningful. If we don’t design it, somebody else has to design it.
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As a human being, member of society, you must clearly state your mind. It’s a responsibility. It is the way you identify yourself otherwise you don’t know who you are and why you are here.
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Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.
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And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
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There’s no such thing as “fixed” culture. China is also becoming more global. Its problems are becoming international problems, becoming German problems, becoming American problems.
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I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
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Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious.
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Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
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I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.
AI WEIWEI