Top 359 Quotes & Sayings by Ai Weiwei - Page 3

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.

I don't think my father had a direct influence on me, but I do think, more or less, I was influenced by his independent individualism. And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society - the kind of mistreatment society gave him.

I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.

Any individual can contribute its own belief. And our society or even our government are made by the people. The people would have the final voice, but it requires each individual to act. If we don't act, then the result is very clear. So for too long Americans take liberty as granted. We think we are in the safe hand, the democracy and the liberty, which is not true. And it can be even getting much worse than today.

What counts in the end is what the government does.

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

As a human being, member of society, you must clearly state your mind. It's a responsibility. It is the way you identify yourself otherwise you don't know who you are and why you are here.

If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?

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.

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

As a total activity - I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.

We move so fast that memory is something we can only grasp

I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it's very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.

I loved New York — every inch of it. It was a little bit scary at that time, but still, the excitement was so strong — visually and intellectually. It was like a monster.

I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.

The Internet has established a public sphere and developed a pressure which the government can no longer ignore.

This so-called fame or being better off doesn't really attract me at all.

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

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.

China didn't want to lose the cutting edge of technology. So the idea of having a Sina Weibo was an attempt to compete with Twitter. However, it has no soul - which is freedom of expression. Nevertheless, I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.

I was in the most restricted prison in China, the most tough. The design of the prison is modeled for internal crimes of the Communist party, so it's like a mafia family's law. It's independent to the law this nation openly applies. It's the place they take you before they give you over to the judicial system. You stay there for a year or two and they make you really suffer to confess everything.

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.

The Internet is the best thing that ever happened to China. It turns us into individuals and also enables us to share our perceptions and feelings. It creates a culture of individualism and exchange even though the real society doesn't promote it. There isn't a single Chinese university that can invite me to give a talk. Even though I know there are many students who would like to hear what I have to say.

I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.

I deal with students every day - from China, Germany, the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And I've noticed that the Chinese students are the least trained in having a sense of aesthetics. They lack any ability to sense what is beautiful or what is proper. They can be learned and skillful, but they lack the ability to make their own free judgment. It is really sad to see young adults of 20, 25 years who were never taught to make their own decisions. People who can't do that don't get a sense of responsibility. And if you lack a sense of responsibility, you push the blame onto the system.

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.

I don't belong to a working system. They only select people if you belong to one so you can be controlled.

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.

The IT people who have made such an effort to know and understand computer technology. They are frustrated that you cannot use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in China. They are the first to recognize that the situation is terrible.

The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it...it's very disturbing.

I came back [to Beijing ] because that's the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.

I also have to speak out for people around me who are afraid, who think it is not worth it or who have totally given up hope. So I want to set an example: you can do it and this is OK, to speak out.

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.

I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art.

The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society's level of civilization.

Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.

My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate [the two] is itself a very political intention.

Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.

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.

I think you can give meaning to any condition; you can be poor or unsuccessful or be so-called successful. But I don't think that it would give an individual human being a better condition.

You need a purpose to express yourself, but that expression is its own purpose.

Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.

I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.

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

It's really rubbish that some kind of "technical" learning means you will be a better person because you know this skill better.

Of course, most luxury goods in China are for corrupted officials and their relatives. And that made China become the biggest luxury-goods market. In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.

This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the quality of their lives.

[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don't care about culture.

Otherwise, I think the building can be bigger, larger, and the city can be much more crazy. The problem is the government structure is so deadly stupid, not really solving problems but creating a lot of problems itself every day.

This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.

I think it's more important to show your work to the public.

In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.

The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security. A clear understanding of such differences will help the rest of the world understand China and all that is happening to the nation.

The practice of photography is no longer a means for recording reality. Instead, it has become reality itself

I don't think there is a distinct change, because in the West I'm not a person who can serve his purpose.

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

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.

I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it. They see how dramatic U.S. has to be put this kind of shame on its own - cannot handle the situation. Or show such a difficulty with this liberal ideas. Men or women created equal. And to defend those very essential ideas.

If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?