I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
AI WEIWEIIf artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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I’m totally independent. I don’t bear any responsibility to any system.
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I think it’s more important to show your work to the public.
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I’m doing quite a few things now. In one day, I will go to Kassel, Germany, for a documentary project I’ve been preparing for half a year.
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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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If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is ‘art’ for?
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A state like China looks so powerful, but they are so scared of the Internet, so the Internet is more powerful than them.
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Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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Today, the general masses in this society are in this political-social condition that really encourages people to become rich and become a star and be unique.
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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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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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Everyone of us is a potential convict.
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Growing up, my family was an enemy of the state. I have experienced more disappointment than joy, much more sad stories or desperate conditions.
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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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Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
AI WEIWEI