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If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.

Ai Weiwei

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
The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society’s level of civilization.
AI WEIWEI

Civilization Freedom Important Level Society Speech
For years, I refused to go to any openings, not even my own.
AI WEIWEI

Opening Own Refuse Year
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
There are many cases and layers of racist behavior in the US – from police treatment to the issues of education and job opportunities. In America, however, such cases are being discussed publically.
AI WEIWEI

Country Education Issue Job Opportunity Racist Treatment
Each year, more people want to become artists.
AI WEIWEI

Artist People Year
Now you have the equal opportunity to equip yourself through information and knowledge and express yourself as an independent mind.
AI WEIWEI

Equal Equip Express Independent Information Knowledge Mind Opportunity
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
I don’t think China should care if this crazy old guy should have a show here or not.
AI WEIWEI

Care Country Crazy Here Museum Shoe Thinking
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
Everyone wants an iPhone, but it would be impossible to design an iPhone in China because it’s not a product; it’s an understanding of human nature.
AI WEIWEI

Country Design Everyone iPhone Product Understanding Want
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.
AI WEIWEI

Being Feel Human Modern Powerful Society Technology Understanding
Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.
AI WEIWEI

Art Life never Separate
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.
AI WEIWEI

Care Condition General Make People Sick Society Tendency
Mass production is nothing new. Weren’t cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?
AI WEIWEI

Cathedral Hand Mass People Production Pyramid
For those actors and directors who produce films which are always about the old kingdom or about heroes.
AI WEIWEI

Actor Film Hero Kingdom Lying Old Real
…photographs are facts, but not necessarily true… The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.
AI WEIWEI

Always Care Past Photograph Present Surpasses Today True
We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
AI WEIWEI

Culture Everything Overexposed Popular Living
We never really see the global situation as a total situation. Today’s political leaders are still lacking of the vision.
AI WEIWEI

Lacking Leader Moving Political Sititaion Today Vision
Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.
AI WEIWEI

Citizen Country Creativity Decision Detrimental Effect Experiencing
I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Believe Best Collaboration Made Product
My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall.
AI WEIWEI

Art Communication Definition Expression Freedom Sound Wall Way
Politics is like air and water. And you know if there is bad politics. Everyone is polluted. Everyone is unhealthy. See the people walking on the street: how they act.
AI WEIWEI

Air Bad Everyone People Politics Polluted Unhealthy Water
Paintings can be painted with the left hand, the right hand, someone else’s hand, or many people’s hands. The scale of production is irrelevant to its content.
AI WEIWEI

Content Hand Irrelevant Left Painting Production Scale Someone
Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don’t think art is elite or mysterious.
AI WEIWEI

Ability Anybody Art Heart Ordinary People Thinking Understand
Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one’s imagination – perhaps more importantly – creativity is the power to act.
AI WEIWEI

Aside Creativity Imagination Past Potential Reject Seek Status
The motivation is really to say people can find the game of getting involved interesting and find the problem and really have the passion and the enthusiasm to solve it and move forward, but that’s all I know.
AI WEIWEI

Forward Game Involved Motivation Moving Passion People

If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.

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If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.

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Popular Authors

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