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The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

Ai Weiwei

I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it’s very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.
AI WEIWEI

Art Circle Coming Experience Important Thinking Work
A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
AI WEIWEI

Always Obstacles Question Spending Thinking Time
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
Many people are going to use [Beijing National Stadium], which makes it more meaningful. If we don’t design it, somebody else has to design it.
AI WEIWEI

Design Make Meaningful People Use
I think U.S. and China is a big opportunity, to be seen as partner or some kind of strategic partner maybe. But those kind of powers have a way of getting too big, then we’ll have competition.
AI WEIWEI

Country Opportunity Partner Strategic Strong Winning
To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. It’s a very complicated process to do large projects.
AI WEIWEI

Architecture Ass Bad Badass Bureaucrats Complicated Criticism Involved Society
You have so many museums in the West, and so many shows, you need somebody to show the work, otherwise it’s empty.
AI WEIWEI

Empty Many Museum Need Otherwise Show Somebody West Work
You only have temporary curiosity, amusement, and challenges, but that does not necessarily mean you are really convinced that it’s necessary or that it’s not even worth to do it.
AI WEIWEI

Amusement Challenge Challenges Curiosity Mean Necessarily Really Temporary
Freedom of expression is a very essential condition for me to make any art. Also, it is an essential value for my life. I have to protect this right and also to fight for the possibility.
AI WEIWEI

Art Condition Essential Expression Fighting Freedom Make Value
Everyone of us is a potential convict.
AI WEIWEI

Convict Everyone Potential
We’re different, and you’re dangerous.” That kind of thinking stops human, civilized evolution. It’s dangerous to create that kind of tension.
AI WEIWEI

Civilized Create Dangerous Different Human Stop Tension Thinking
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
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
Hopefully, other successes aren’t like me. It carries much more meaning to other people; my success story is irrelevant. It doesn’t make any sense.
AI WEIWEI

Carries Hopefully Irrelevant Like More People Stories Story Success Successes
I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
AI WEIWEI

Beautiful Called Craftsmanship Interested Material Mean Perfect Useless
I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
AI WEIWEI

Alien Illegal Move Moving Visa Back Year

The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

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The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.

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