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This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.

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
Form
Contemporary
Philosophy
Called
Society
Art

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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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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Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.
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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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If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
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I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.
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I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
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Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60 years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity.
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If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?
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Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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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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Creativity is the power to act.
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I don't think China has professional museums - not in the past, present, or near future.
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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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Of course, most luxury goods in China are for corrupted officials and their relatives. And that made China become the biggest luxury-goods market. In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.
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Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
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Society becomes very destructive.
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Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression.
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Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
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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.
Ai Weiwei