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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.

Ai Weiwei

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Ai Weiwei
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: May 18
Architect
Consultant
Contemporary Artist
Designer
Film Director
Human Rights Activist
Painter
Photographer
Sculptor
Social Activist
Peking
Wei-wei Ai
Weiwei Ai
Ai Wei Wei
Barbaric
Speech
Modern
Freedom
Without
World

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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I never think any place is better than others.
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My mother became much older when I came out (ed's note: of detention). She had problems with her hearing and high blood pressure. But they still support me.
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The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It's as simple as that.
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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.
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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.
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Twitter is most suitable for me. In the Chinese language, 140 characters is a novella.
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Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
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My situation gives me certain ideas about beauty or the excitement of life, but that doesn't mean other people can necessarily appreciate it.
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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.
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If you just turn to your paper or television each day, there are thousands of stories that are much more shocking than the gallery artworks.
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My understanding of Chinese history is limited. So far, I have only scratched its surface I wish I could find out more.
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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.
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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.
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There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
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In an environment without public platform nor protection, the individual is the most powerful and most responsible.
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Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don't think art is elite or mysterious.
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Life is never guaranteed to be safe, so we better use it while we are still in good condition.
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Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression.
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China has not established the rule of law and if there is a power above the law there is no social justice. Everybody can be subjected to harm. I'm just a citizen: my life is equal in value to any other. But I'm thankful that when I lost my freedom so many people shared feelings and put such touching effort into helping me.
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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.
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