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The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
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
Freedom
Constrain
Take
Totalitarianism
Imprisoned
Misconception
Flight
Case
Cases
Land
Windowsill
More quotes by Ai Weiwei
This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.
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I don't think there is a distinct change, because in the West I'm not a person who can serve his purpose.
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If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
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When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That's dangerous for human development.
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To the media, I have become a symbolic figure, critical of China. According to the government, I am a dangerous threat.
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Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.
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To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not survive otherwise. This was after many millions have died of hunger in a country that was like North Korea is today. Once we became part of global competition, we had to agree to some rules. It's painful, but we had to. Otherwise there was no way to survive.
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China seems unpredictable because it has a distinct culture and social system. It is still a mystery to other parts of the world, even though the veil of China has been lifted many times as a result of globalization.
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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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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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In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want — not only you, your whole family and all people like you.
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My musician friends are banned from playing concerts in China because they share the same views as I do. My name cannot appear on the web, because my opinion is different from the Party.
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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.
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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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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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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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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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There's no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.
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After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
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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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