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If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?

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
Sorrow
Pain
Art
Nothing
People

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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I never regret anything.
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The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
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Each year, more people want to become artists.
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I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
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I remember one little rainy day I went searching for this apartment and I saw so many people standing on a stoop on the corner in the rain. Later I realized, that was drug traffic. They were all buying drugs.
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You only have temporary curiosity, amusement, and challenges, but that does not necessarily mean you are really convinced that it's necessary or that it's not even worth to do it. It's just a way you have to set up some kind of activities to follow your instincts or your curiosities.
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I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn't move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
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It's really rubbish that some kind of technical learning means you will be a better person because you know this skill better.
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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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Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.
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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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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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The American experience influenced my understanding of individuality, basic human rights, freedom of expression and the rights and responsibilities of citizens.
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The world is sphere, has no East or West.
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The people who control culture in China have no culture.
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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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This so-called fame or being better off doesn't really attract me at all.
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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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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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Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world it is more dangerous. In the west people think it's a right they're born with. Here it's a right given by the government, and one that's not really practised.
Ai Weiwei