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It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product.

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
Product
Realized
Became
Products
Attitude
Artist
Symbolic
Thing
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More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall.
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Selling high or low doesn't mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
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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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I always want people to be confused, to be shocked or realize something later.
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Everyone of us is a potential convict.
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My typical day is I wake up and appreciate that I can still wake up.
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I often feel more disgust than pride about this kind of success. So there's no regret whatsoever.
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Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.
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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.
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If it's possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head - the project or a few ideas which are not finished or if there are possible directions and what will lead into another game. It's always like setting up some kind of game you can continuously play.
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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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All movies in China are censored. Out of 600 movies produced in China, only 60 are allowed to show in theatres.
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I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation.
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I grew up in a desert, which has no kind of imagination.
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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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During the days in detention, I thought most about the moon.
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If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?
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In the '80s, you couldn't walk in the neighborhood without looking back to see if anyone was following you. You had your key in your hand before you got to your apartment and you'd rush in so you didn't have to stop.
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...photographs are facts, but not necessarily true... The present always surpasses the past, and the future will not care about today.
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I always admire writers. My father was a writer, a poet. I always admire people who can clearly state their mind.
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