After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
AI WEIWEIThe whole Chinese system – not just the political leadership, the military too, the whole power structure, our education system, the whole of society – is suffering from being cut off from the free flow of information.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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How to become a really modern society when today we are so – as a human being, we feel so powerful. We have high technology and a superb way of controlling our life. And at the same time, in many ways we are so primitive.
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I’m just bringing them to Kassel to see the art show, and pay their room and board.
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In the end, I think, the state’s rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
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Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
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Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China’s society is opening.
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I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
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People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It’s an unbearable condition.
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I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
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The deadly weapon against totalitarian society is openness – doing everything very openly on the Internet, letting people know every detail, any little development. Once it is out there, everybody can make their own judgement.
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You have so many museums in the West, and so many shows, you need somebody to show the work, otherwise it’s empty.
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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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It’s like the mountains, the ocean and the rivers. It has its own geological forms. Societies cannot be flat. But during change, human rights, human dignity and free speech have to be protected. Otherwise, we’ll be going backward.
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If it’s possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head.
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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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The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
AI WEIWEI