black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.

Ai Weiwei

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.
AI WEIWEI

Absurd Always Artwork Giving High Matter Measured Number Price Something
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.
AI WEIWEI

Cleaned Highly Hole Literally Lived Poet Respected Toilet Underground Yera
Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.
AI WEIWEI

Barely Casulaities Country Deal People Political Treated
It also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
AI WEIWEI

Desire Humanity Make Pureness Safe Something Trouble
Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
AI WEIWEI

Plainly Responsibility Responsible Taking
China is at a different stage of development, human rights are violated here much more often. And still, we see improvements even here.
AI WEIWEI

Country Development Different Improvement Indifferent More Much Right
The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society’s level of civilization.
AI WEIWEI

Civilization Freedom Important Level Society Speech
Nationality and borders are barriers to our intelligence, to our imagination and to all kinds of possibilities.
AI WEIWEI

Barrier Border Imagination Intelligence Nationality Possibilities
I don’t believe in a sense of home.
AI WEIWEI

Believe Home Sense
Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.
AI WEIWEI

Country Director Future Going Moment Outside Priilied Somehow Time
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.
AI WEIWEI

Condition Encourage General Masses People Society Star Unique
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
To the media, I have become a symbolic figure, critical of China. According to the government, I am a dangerous threat.
AI WEIWEI

Country Critical Dangerous Figure Government Media Symbolic
The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
AI WEIWEI

Existence Freedom Plight Powerful Reality Reflected Spiritual Tasted
Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that’s the 1980s. New York in the ’80s was not so interesting.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Encouragement New York
It is not an easy job to govern China, I am aware of that. There are crises and emergencies all the time, we might not even be aware of some. But I am afraid we’ll have to wait and observe precisely what the government is up to.
AI WEIWEI

Crises Easy Emergencies Government Job Time Waiting

You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ai Weiwei Quotes