Ai Weiwei Quotes, Art Quotes, Thinking Quotes

I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Art Quotes , Thinking Quotes

You're still being looked at as somebody who - it's a very complicated issue.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Issues Quotes , Complicated Quotes

Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I'm not nostalgic about the old city. I don't enjoy it that much.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Crazy Quotes , Cities Quotes

We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Culture Quotes

Overturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It’s probably the only sport I enjoy.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Sports Quotes , Workout Quotes

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.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Issues Quotes , Views Quotes

There's no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Thinking Quotes , Feelings Quotes

Everyone wants an iPhone, but it would be impossible to design an iPhone in China because it's not a product; it's an understanding of human nature.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Iphone Quotes , Design Quotes

New York is a city where you're so alone, you're an individual, you can disappear. You can make something happen. But it's very different to make something happen in the art world.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Art Quotes , New York Quotes

I spent a lot of time standing on street corners [of New York City] talking to local residents. I spent time in bookstores and galleries. But most of the time, I really did not have much to do.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , New York Quotes , Talking Quotes

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.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Jobs Quotes , Government Quotes

People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It's an unbearable condition.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , People Quotes , Sick Quotes

The idea to use backpacks came from my visit to Sichuan after the earthquake in May 2008. During the earthquake many schools collapsed. Thousands of young students lost their lives, and you could see bags and study material everywhere. Then you realize individual life, media, and the lives of the students are serving very different purposes. The lives of the students disappeared within the state propaganda, and very soon everybody will forget everything.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , School Quotes , Media Quotes

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.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Stars Quotes , Unique Quotes

In the '80s, you couldn't walk in the neighborhood without looking back to see if anyone was following you. You had your key in your hand before you got to your apartment and you'd rush in so you didn't have to stop.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Keys Quotes , Hands Quotes

In the end, I think, the state's rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Thinking Quotes , Insecurity Quotes

In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence. It is impossible for a totalitarian society to create anything with passion and imagination.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Passion Quotes , Independent Quotes

To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling. It is to wonder about the world, to understand the nature of people and, most importantly, to be shared with another, old or young, known or unknown.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Reality Quotes , People Quotes

If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Stronger Quotes , Danger Quotes

I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who's like a child.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Children Quotes , Thinking Quotes