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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
People
Sorrow
Pain
Art
Nothing

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.
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Censorship is saying: I'm the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine. But the internet is like a tree that is growing. The people will always have the last word – even if someone has a very weak, quiet voice. Such power will collapse because of a whisper.
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The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it...it's very disturbing.
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Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that's the 1980s. New York in the '80s was not so interesting. I think it's quite narrow-minded. There wasn't much encouragement or opportunities for any artist - not just Chinese artists.
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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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[Museums] all belongs to the cultural department, which is the biggest cultural department in the world.
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This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the quality of their lives.
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Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers can delay that freedom, but they cannot stop it.
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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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Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.
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If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.
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What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.
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In my case, I was stuck there for quite a while. New York is large enough to be a very abstract city, so nobody cares.
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A small act is worth a million thoughts.
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Art needs to stand for something.
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The so-called culture nowadays is only a fake one with a superficial front. It is an empty lie.
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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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Many people I know - writers, poets - they have all been sentenced not once but sometimes three times after they come out. They serve five or six years, come out another time, and then nine years. Come out again, 12 years. Only because they have a different opinion. They are innocent people, they have beautiful minds, beautiful hearts.
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What counts in the end is what the government does.
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Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.
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