Nationality and borders are barriers to our intelligence, to our imagination and to all kinds of possibilities.
AI WEIWEIThe United States is a melting pot. Like John F. Kennedy said, it’s a nation of immigrants. But Donald Trump wants to build a fence that clearly makes the statement: “You and I are divided.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
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After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
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The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it…it’s very disturbing.
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Otherwise, I think the building can be bigger, larger, and the city can be much more crazy. The problem is the government structure is so deadly stupid, not really solving problems but creating a lot of problems itself every day.
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My 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.
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Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
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My angst and my insecurity reflect the state’s angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.
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I don’t believe in a sense of home.
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I never regret anything.
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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.
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Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.
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By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.
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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.
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I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
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It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product.
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