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New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.

Ai Weiwei

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 misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
AI WEIWEI

Case Constrain Flight Freedom Imprisoned Land Misconception
[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.
AI WEIWEI

Affair Care Culture Daily Understand
A society is healthy only when it allows its members to discuss their thoughts openly. This is also the only way that a society can gather consensus, let everyone express his or her wish, and foster creativity.
AI WEIWEI

Creativity Discuss Healthy Openly Thought Wish
For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
AI WEIWEI

Breathe Express Heart Long Myself Pumping
Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.
AI WEIWEI

Chinese Clearly Country Government Potential Problem Trying
The purpose of art is the fight for freedom.
AI WEIWEI

Art Fight Fighting Purpose
We are not on – even just a step away from the most brutal and primitive crudity. To be very crude on those issues, which is always challenges and we always have to look at the situation like a mirror, to draw some understanding.
AI WEIWEI

Always Challenge Crude Issue Mirror Primitive Situation Step Understanding
I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
AI WEIWEI

Achieve Art Freedom Human Important Thinking Weapon
I never regret anything.
AI WEIWEI

Anything never Regret
The whole attitude of society has become much more open and realistic. They realize that the only way to make a more democratic and free society is to let different opinions come out.
AI WEIWEI

Attitude Different More Much Open Realize Society Way
After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
AI WEIWEI

China Long Periods
To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.
AI WEIWEI

Express Need Reason Yourself
It’s really rubbish that some kind of “technical” learning means you will be a better person because you know this skill better.
AI WEIWEI

Better Learning Mean Person Rubbish Skill Technical
I saw [Allen Ginsberg] more as an old man who liked poetry and who had a lot of physical and emotional problems. We liked our time together.
AI WEIWEI

Emotion Emotional Man More Old Physical Poetry Problem Together
It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Attitude Lifestyle More Producing Realized Symbolic Thing

New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.

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New York has given me a lot, but I still don’t consider it home.

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