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.
AI WEIWEIIt’s the place they take you before they give you over to the judicial system. You stay there for a year or two and they make you really suffer to confess everything.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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I don’t think China should care if this crazy old guy should have a show here or not.
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Censorship is saying: “I’m the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine.” But the internet is like a tree that is growing.
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In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.
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The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society’s level of civilization.
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Even today the borders they’re seeing the physical borders are very different from the political borders. Because all those powers are so connected, and you cannot even see whose interest in what move.
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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.
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I think it’s quite narrow-minded. There wasn’t much encouragement or opportunities for any artist – not just Chinese artists.
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I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
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Nothing is clear-cut. Perhaps I’ll find my way – or get totally lost.
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The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
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I don’t belong to a working system. They only select people if you belong to one so you can be controlled.
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Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics.
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I have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself.
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The practice of photography is no longer a means for recording reality. Instead, it has become reality itself
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China didn’t want to lose the cutting edge of technology. So the idea of having a Sina Weibo was an attempt to compete with Twitter. However, it has no soul – which is freedom of expression. Nevertheless,
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