Ai Weiwei Quotes, People Quotes, Waste Quotes

It's always the rich and there's plenty to waste, yet still China has a lot of people living in very spare, poor conditions.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , People Quotes , Waste Quotes

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.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Air Quotes , People Quotes

What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Important Quotes , Wish Quotes

Growing up, my family was an enemy of the state. I have experienced more disappointment than joy, much more sad stories or desperate conditions.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Growing Up Quotes , Disappointment 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

I don't think [price] reflects if the work is good or bad.A good artist shouldn't be nervous about that.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Artist Quotes , Thinking 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

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

We see the tendency in the world to criticise democracy and sometimes even to say that authoritarian countries like China are more efficient. That is very short-sighted. China looks efficient only because it can sacrifice most people's rights. This is not something the west should be happy about.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Country Quotes , Sacrifice Quotes

The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum. A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Museums Quotes , Government 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

Whenever there is injustice, there is tension. But in China it is very hard to release your anger unless you burn yourself or you jump from a bridge. In a society where there is no freedom of the press, it is difficult for victims to be noticed.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Bridges Quotes , Injustice Quotes

In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.

6 years ago

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

I think the pearls - one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl - really show a kind of [society] condition.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Thinking Quotes , Necklaces Quotes

If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Past Quotes , Faces Quotes

Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Artist Quotes , Way Quotes

China and the U.S. are two societies with very different attitudes towards opinion and criticism. In China, I am constantly under surveillance. Even my slightest, most innocuous move can - and often is - censored by Chinese authorities.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Attitude Quotes , Moving Quotes

Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Thinking Quotes , Government Quotes

China is at a different stage of development, human rights are violated here much more often. And still, we see improvements even here.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Rights Quotes , Different Quotes

There are many cases and layers of racist behavior in the US - from police treatment to the issues of education and job opportunities. In America, however, such cases are being discussed publically.

6 years ago

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Tags : Ai Weiwei Quotes , Jobs Quotes , Opportunity Quotes