The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum.
AI WEIWEII think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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You can never know what is and what is not powerful, but you can always find out what the powerful people are scared of.
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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.
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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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People who can’t do that don’t get a sense of responsibility. And if you lack a sense of responsibility, you push the blame onto the system.
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The relationship between the Chinese government and me is like a Cold War.
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Creativity is the power to act.
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For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political.
AI WEIWEI -
I don’t like China. Even today, I still feel I have no emotional relations with this place.
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If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.
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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.
AI WEIWEI -
The whole attitude of society has become much more open and realistic. They realize that the only way to make a more democratic and free society is to let different opinions come out.
AI WEIWEI -
This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.
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I don’t think there is a distinct change, because in the West I’m not a person who can serve his purpose.
AI WEIWEI -
The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it…it’s very disturbing.
AI WEIWEI -
It also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
AI WEIWEI