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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

The Internet has established a public sphere and developed a pressure which the government can no longer ignore.
AI WEIWEI

Developed Established Government Ignored Internet Longer Pressure Sphere
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
[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

Development Everything Fairness Holding Internet Letting Outside People Trail
The only way to avoid misunderstanding, war and bloodshed is to defend freedom of expression and to communicate with sincerity, concern and good intentions.
AI WEIWEI

Avoid Belief Carrodes Denies Ignorant Mankind Minded Misunderstanding Narrow Warmth
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
After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
AI WEIWEI

China Long Periods
Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you.
AI WEIWEI

Art Artist Character Course People Thinking
Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
AI WEIWEI

Application Art Look School Statistic Student Ten Thousand
Civilization has evolved toward more acceptance, understanding and tolerance of global thinking. If we accept differences, our creativity booms. It makes life much more colorful.
AI WEIWEI

Acceptance Civilization Creativity Evolved Global Thinking Tolerance Understanding
And who is going to win the competition if U.S. cannot hold a strong ideology? And even the U.S. would’ve lost the ground to win.
AI WEIWEI

Competition Ground Hold Ideology Lost Strong Win
I don’t like China. Even today, I still feel I have no emotional relations with this place.
AI WEIWEI

Country Emotional Place Relation Today
I don’t think I was very structured in that society and I don’t really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.
AI WEIWEI

Believe Country Personal Structured Success Thinking
I never had a sense of home.
AI WEIWEI

Home Sense
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.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Attitude Lifestyle More Producing Realized Symbolic Thing
I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Expression Extend Freedom Power Responsibility Thinking
So, the politicians and the people who make decisions very often is the one we think can make some difference. But of course they will not make a difference if the citizens or the individuals not push it or not to speak out, to possess a very strong voice about, this is not acceptable.
AI WEIWEI

Acceptable Citizen Course Difference Often People Politician Strong

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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