Everything is art. Everything is politics.
AI WEIWEIWe 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.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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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 society is healthy only when it allows its members to discuss their thoughts openly. This is also the only way that a society can gather consensus, let everyone express his or her wish, and foster creativity.
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They’ve become part of a conspiracy, collaborators of the crime, which is lying to the general public and trying to hide the kind of criminal acts happening in many cases.
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The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
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I came back [to Beijing ] because that’s the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.
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I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.
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The purpose of art is the fight for freedom.
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Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught.
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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.
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China hasn’t only existed for one day. Now, the whole nation has become richer and it’s become a problem. The problem is universal. The factor is big. Everybody has to rethink the balance of the world and the whole landscape.
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Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
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In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want — not only you, your whole family and all people like you.
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I don’t think my father had a direct influence on me, but I do think, more or less, I was influenced by his independent individualism.
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The society was so different [in China] – it was a feudalistic society. It didn’t come to a point of industrial revolution until twenty years ago.
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I think by not letting young people be fully informed, how can they have energy and passion and the right picture of the world? I think that’s the true crime.
AI WEIWEI