Ai Weiwei quotes
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“A small act is worth a million thoughts.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Meet the most interesting person in China" by Kathleen E. McLaughlin, www.pri.org. June 23, 2009.
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“Maybe being powerful means to be fragile.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Ai Weiwei 'Does Not Feel Powerful". BBC, October 13, 2011.
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“Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : Interview with Katie Hill, www.tate.org.uk. October 12, 2010.
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“The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : Ai Weiwei @aiww, twitter.com. April 21, 2014.
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“We should leave behind discrimination, because it is narrow-minded and ignorant, denies contact and warmth, and corrodes mankind’s belief that we can better ourselves. The only way to avoid misunderstanding, war, and bloodshed is to defend freedom of expression and to communicate with sincerity, concern, and good intentions.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want—not only you, your whole family and all people like you.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“We move so fast that memory is something we can only grasp”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Artistic Licence". www.economist.com. May 05, 2012.
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“If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Ai Weiwei, Nursing Head Wound, Sharpens Criticism: Review" by Catherine Hickley, Bloomberg.com, October 14, 2009.
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“Overturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It’s probably the only sport I enjoy.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“The Internet changes the structure of society all the time—this massiveness made of individuals.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Choices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Ai Weiwei 'Does Not Feel Powerful'". www.bbc.com. October 13, 2011.
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“Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : Princeton University Press @PrincetonUPress, twitter.com. July 23, 2015.
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“Everything is art. Everything is politics.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Weiwei-isms, By Ai Weiwei, trans. Larry Warsh". www.independent.co.uk. January 11, 2013.
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“Censorship is saying: 'I'm the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine.' But the internet is like a tree that is growing. The people will always have the last word - even if someone has a very weak, quiet voice. Such power will collapse because of a whisper.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“When you have strict censorship of the internet, young students cannot receive a full education. Their view of the world is imbalanced. There can be no true discussion of the issues.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“Liberty is about our rights to question everything.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : Interview with Brook Larmer, hbr.org. April 2012.
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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 -
“Historically, China is not a nation of sportsmen. We traditionally put more emphasis on being close to nature than pushing endlessly to excel. A philosophy that values tranquil contemplation of the landscape cannot easily be adapted to the Olympic slogan of 'higher, stronger, faster.'”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“I think everybody deserves freedom. Freedom is such an abstract word, but it's all we need.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“You can never know what is and what is not powerful, but you can always find out what the powerful people are scared of. A state like China looks so powerful, but they are so scared of the Internet, so the Internet is more powerful than them.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“The people who control culture in China have no culture.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“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 -
“I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable—how we decide what is valuable.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“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 -
“Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“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 WeiweiSource : "Ai Weiwei: the dissident artist" by Hari Kunzru, www.theguardian.com. May 27, 2011.
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“A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and it can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“These are nonviolent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas.... In truth, they are heroes of our time.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“I will never leave China, unless I am forced to. Because China is mine. I will not leave something that belongs to me in the hands of people I do not trust.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“The practice of photography is no longer a means for recording reality. Instead, it has become reality itself”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That's dangerous for human development.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our proposal won the competition. From beginning to end, I stayed with the project. I am committed to fostering relationships between a city and its architecture.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“Freedom of speech implies the world isn’t defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
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“Recently I danced in a video spoof of the song 'Gangnam Style,' and it was quickly banned across multiple Chinese online video platforms. But the story still traveled all over the world, carried in hundreds of international media reports.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.”
-- Ai WeiweiSource : "Ai Weiwei, Nursing Head Wound, Sharpens Criticism: Review" by Catherine Hickley, Bloomberg.com, October 14, 2009.
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“This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years. People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China's relationship with the outside world.”
-- Ai Weiwei -
“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 -
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