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If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?

Ai Weiwei

I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].
AI WEIWEI

China Feelings This Society
This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years.
AI WEIWEI

Country Dream Extraordinary Game Gather Moment Week Year
Now many enterprises are made by individuals, so the attitude has started to change.
AI WEIWEI

Attitude Change Enterprises Individual Made Started
Selling high or low doesn’t mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
AI WEIWEI

Anything High Market Mean Purely Selling
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
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
Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?
AI WEIWEI

Cathedral Hand Mass People Production Pyramid
I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
AI WEIWEI

Art Code Design Everyone Open Secret
The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
AI WEIWEI

Case Constrain Flight Freedom Imprisoned Land Misconception
They lack any ability to sense what is beautiful or what is proper. They can be learned and skillful, but they lack the ability to make their own free judgment. It is really sad to see young adults of 20, 25 years who were never taught to make their own decisions.
AI WEIWEI

Ability Adult Beautiful Decision Judgement Lack Learned Proper Skillful Taught Young
Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
AI WEIWEI

Barbie Freedom Modern Speech World
But personally, I don’t think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it’s beyond my own consciousness.
AI WEIWEI

Art Beyond Character Consciousness Country Personality Related Think Understanding Work
As long as I can communicate, I’m not so lonely. If I cannot travel, or do art, or have company, if they take away all my belongings, it doesn’t matter at all.
AI WEIWEI

Communicate Dialogue Engage Living Lonely Long Society
Many people are going to use [Beijing National Stadium], which makes it more meaningful. If we don’t design it, somebody else has to design it.
AI WEIWEI

Design Make Meaningful People Use
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
You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.
AI WEIWEI

Criticism Function Money Society Star Turn Work

If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?

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If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?

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