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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.

Ai Weiwei

Nationality and borders are barriers to our intelligence, to our imagination and to all kinds of possibilities.
AI WEIWEI

Barrier Border Imagination Intelligence Nationality Possibilities
We’re different, and you’re dangerous.” That kind of thinking stops human, civilized evolution. It’s dangerous to create that kind of tension.
AI WEIWEI

Civilized Create Dangerous Different Human Stop Tension Thinking
Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
AI WEIWEI

Effort Interesting Life Little Make More Much
Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.
AI WEIWEI

Barely Casulaities Country Deal People Political Treated
That’s why the country can’t face up to open competition – unless it resorts to measures like North Korea.
AI WEIWEI

Competition Country Face Measure Open Resort
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 don’t personally feel any association with a kind of culture related to state, or culture related to power, which I think is always disgusting.
AI WEIWEI

Association Culture Feel Kind Personality Power Related State Thinking
We literally lived underground. We dug a hole and lived there for years. My father cleaned public toilets, even though he was a highly respected poet.
AI WEIWEI

Cleaned Highly Hole Literally Lived Poet Respected Toilet Underground Yera
I don’t think [price] reflects if the work is good or bad.A good artist shouldn’t be nervous about that.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Bad Good Nervous Thinking Reflect
The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
AI WEIWEI

Existence Freedom Plight Powerful Reality Reflected Spiritual Tasted
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 wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.
AI WEIWEI

Become Born More Radical
It is to wonder about the world, to understand the nature of people and, most importantly, to be shared with another, old or young, known or unknown.
AI WEIWEI

Another Importantly Old People Shared Understand Wonder World Young
A nation like China has become one of the biggest production fields for exporting cheap labor, which also re-questions our history and past, re-questions human desire, and the human illusions of the past.
AI WEIWEI

Biggest Cheap Country Desire Exporting Field Labor Past Production
If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.
AI WEIWEI

Face Future Nation Past
My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall. Art should live in the heart of the people.
AI WEIWEI

Always Art Been Communication Definition Expression Freedom Same Wall
Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
AI WEIWEI

Barbie Freedom Modern Speech World
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
China restricts the society’s freedom of speech. The Communist Party imposes these limits because it lacks confidence towards the future and has no ideals.
AI WEIWEI

Communist Confidence Creativity Decision Freedom Imposes Lack Limit Party Speech
To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling.
AI WEIWEI

Above Beyond Experience Feeling Over People Physical Poetry Reality
As a total activity – I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.
AI WEIWEI

Activity Architecture Art Living Practice Publishing Together Total Writing
[Cultural departments] don’t care about culture. Maybe they’re the furthest from the people who understand culture.
AI WEIWEI

Care Culture Furthest Maybe People Understand
The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China’s future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state.
AI WEIWEI

Children Country Future Issue Job Know Leadership Mean Solve
I lived there [ in New York City] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Cities New York
Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
AI WEIWEI

Anything High Market Mean Purely Selling
In the end, I think, the state’s rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
AI WEIWEI

End Function Indecisiveness Insecurity Rigidly Thinking
Every day I’m learning something new from the practice. It’s very rewarding.
AI WEIWEI

Learning New Practice Rewarding Something

[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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[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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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