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I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions.

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
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Change
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Certainly
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More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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All the rich people collect traditional Chinese art. So it's very natural for Chinese families to still see art as the highest human performance and send their children to this field.
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Once you've tasted freedom, it stays in your heart...
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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don't care about culture.
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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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For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political. You don't have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
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Civilization has evolved toward more acceptance, understanding and tolerance of global thinking. If we accept differences, our creativity booms. It makes life much more colorful. It also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
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Artists are the worst [people]. They are selfish, self-centred they don't care what happens.
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Recently I danced in a video spoof of the song 'Gangnam Style,' and it was quickly banned across multiple Chinese online video platforms. But the story still traveled all over the world, carried in hundreds of international media reports.
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Mass production is nothing new. Weren't cathedrals built through mass production? The pyramids?... Paintings can be painted with the left hand, the right hand, someone else's hand, or many people's hands. The scale of production is irrelevant to its content.
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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.
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Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
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I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That's the beauty of the Internet Age.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.
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This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
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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.
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Dont retreat. Retweet!
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China is an old nation with a colourful history. Its booming economy has triggered an appetite and a curiosity around the world for its art and culture, one that continues to grow. I can, however, tell people that it is a show with no actor.
Ai Weiwei
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If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?
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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.
Ai Weiwei