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If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.

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
Lost
Participation
Human
Artistic
Humans
Choice
Need
Expression
Needs
Beauty
Life
Choices
Society
Freedom

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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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.
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China spends a lot of resources and effort on gaining soft power over culture. The hope is that it can be the last lifeline for the Party's survival. Obviously, the idea will fail.
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As a total activity - I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.
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If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.
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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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The rest of the world understands little about China's changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
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The whole attitude of society has become much more open and realistic. They realize that the only way to make a more democratic and free society is to let different opinions come out.
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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.
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This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years. People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China's relationship with the outside world.
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Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness
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I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
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By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.
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I never regret anything.
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It [success] is really by mistake.
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To give a price to an artwork, no matter how high or low, is always absurd. It's not something that can be measured by money or by certain numbers.
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Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you. But personally, I don't think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it's beyond my own consciousness.
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For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
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We live in changing times, and many people experience the challenges that come with it. In the face of uncertain futures, no one will know what to expect.
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I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets of judgment.
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If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?
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