The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
AI WEIWEI[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.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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I deal with students every day – from China, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And I’ve noticed that the Chinese students are the least trained in having a sense of aesthetics.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
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For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political.
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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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It’s very essential values that we all have to protect. But in Chinese society, people are giving up on protecting these values.
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Life is art. Art is life. I never separate 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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There’s no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.
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Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness
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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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I was in the most restricted prison in China, the most tough. The design of the prison is modeled for internal crimes of the Communist party, so it’s like a mafia family’s law. It’s independent to the law this nation openly applies.
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We grew up in a very material-lacking socialist society, but today China is a capitalist society. It’s very materialistic. It’s full of desire and luxury goods.
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A nation that has no music and no fairytales is a tragedy.
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The Internet has established a public sphere and developed a pressure which the government can no longer ignore.
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