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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

For years, I refused to go to any openings, not even my own.
AI WEIWEI

Opening Own Refuse Year
The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
AI WEIWEI

Always Fantasy Kind Luxurious Pearl Rareness Unique
If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?
AI WEIWEI

Artist Dignity Else Right Speak Then
I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it.
AI WEIWEI

Country Election Laughing Man Presidential Thinking
Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
AI WEIWEI

Country Freedom Heart More Powerful Take
We never really see the global situation as a total situation. Today’s political leaders are still lacking of the vision.
AI WEIWEI

Lacking Leader Moving Political Sititaion Today Vision
What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.
AI WEIWEI

Access Express Important Realm Wish
Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.
AI WEIWEI

Cities Crazy Destroy Enjoy Much Nostalgic
They very often just try to cope with their own election, their own popularity, solving the problem or selling the ideas to meet their own voters. By doing that, it creates a great imbalance in terms of making deals or treaty or all those things.
AI WEIWEI

Border Cope Create Deal Election Idea Imbalance Making Meet Political Popularity Selling Solving Voter
A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
AI WEIWEI

Always Obstacles Question Spending Thinking Time
Technology is a liberation. I think the information age probably is the best thing to happen to the human race in human evolution.
AI WEIWEI

Happen Human Humanity Independent Information Liberation Opportunity Race Technology
The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
AI WEIWEI

Country Experience Expression Individual Responsibility Right Understanding
To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. It’s a very complicated process to do large projects.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Ass Bad Badass Bureaucrats Complicated Criticism Involved Society
Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
AI WEIWEI

Anything High Market Mean Purely Selling
It [success] is really by mistake.
AI WEIWEI

Mistake Reality Success
I want people to see their own power.
AI WEIWEI

Own People Power Want
You don’t have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
AI WEIWEI

Clear Expression March Mean Minded Own Tiananmen
Of course, there [in China] has to be chaos. It has to be crazy, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong about it except this government, which is really incapable of doing anything meaningful.
AI WEIWEI

Anything Country Crazy Meaningful Think Thinking Wrong
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.
AI WEIWEI

Cities Country Talking Local Resident Spent Time
I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years.
AI WEIWEI

Citizen Father Party Pushed Writer Writing Young
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.
AI WEIWEI

Always Challenge Crude Issue Mirror Primitive Situation Step Understanding
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.
AI WEIWEI

Created Ethics Historical Mean Moral Revived Society
This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
AI WEIWEI

Art Called Contemporary Form Philosophy Society
I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art.
AI WEIWEI

Art Important Most Stance Thinking Way
I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Expression Extend Freedom Power Responsibility Thinking
I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.
AI WEIWEI

Fight Fighting Generation Same Want
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.
AI WEIWEI

Aside Creativity Imagination Past Potential Reject Seek Status

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.

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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.

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Popular Authors

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