Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.
AI WEIWEIDestroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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Maybe being powerful means to be fragile.
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A small act is worth a million thoughts.
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Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.
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I don’t think [price] reflects if the work is good or bad.A good artist shouldn’t be nervous about that.
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I’m totally independent. I don’t bear any responsibility to any system.
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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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Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.
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Today, the general masses in this society are in this political-social condition that really encourages people to become rich and become a star and be unique.
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I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].
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The rest of the world understands little about China’s changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
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The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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…photographs are facts, but not necessarily true… The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.
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If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I’m saying is common sense.
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There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
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To give a price to an artwork, no matter how high or low, is always absurd. It’s not something that can be measured by money or by certain numbers.
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Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you.
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We should use this public sphere and redefine – beyond China’s borders – what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen’s privacy begins.
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After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
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I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.
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Nationality started as something natural, but we should not be restrained by the old politics that make up these clear lines. It should have its own way of evolving. In some places, it will evolve slower and in others, faster.
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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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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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These are nonviolent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas….In truth, they are heroes of our time.
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I lived there [ in New York City] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist.
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You’re still being looked at as somebody who – it’s a very complicated issue.
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