Ai Weiwei Quotes

I never think any place is better than others.

6 years ago

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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.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Thinking Quotes , Obstacles Quotes

I have to find a place for my own. I have to search for my own happiness.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , My Own 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

Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it.

6 years ago

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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

New York was not a romantic city at [80th]. Nobody knows who you are and you don't have to care about anybody else. It's a very cold city, I should say.

6 years ago

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

[Cultural departments] don't care about culture. Maybe they're the furthest from the people who understand culture.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , People Quotes , Culture Quotes

I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn't move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Moving Quotes , Years Quotes

China's culture and history are closely related to my living environment. This country is my birthplace. It is also where I grew up. Its culture and history shape my relations with family, friends, society, and daily life.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Country Quotes , Culture Quotes

My childhood was quite extreme. Sometimes I was so weak I could not stand up. But now I am so strong. Life is unpredictable

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Strong Quotes , Childhood Quotes

A small act is worth a million thoughts.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Motivational Quotes , Wise Quotes

I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years. 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. Nationality and borders are barriers to our intelligence, to our imagination and to all kinds of possibilities.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Father Quotes , Party Quotes

[Shanghai Biennale] has been my attitude for as long as I've been practicing art and other cultural-related activities.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Art Quotes , Attitude Quotes

Man has a tendency to try to give clear reasons to be rational, but often you can see how all those reasons are not convincing and turn out to be a big nonsense.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Men Quotes , Giving Quotes

If Shakespeare were alive today, he might be writing on Twitter.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Writing Quotes , Live For Today Quotes

To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not survive otherwise. This was after many millions have died of hunger in a country that was like North Korea is today. Once we became part of global competition, we had to agree to some rules. It's painful, but we had to. Otherwise there was no way to survive.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Country Quotes , Korea Quotes

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.

6 years ago

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By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Way Quotes , World Quotes

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. I think it's quite narrow-minded. There wasn't much encouragement or opportunities for any artist - not just Chinese artists.

6 years ago

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