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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

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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
Everyone
Polluted
Like
Unhealthy
People
Street
Air
Walking
Streets
Politics
Water

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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Warhol influenced me because of his writing. If I had never read his writings and interviews, I would never have understood his work.
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Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things it is no longer so much about producing something.
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Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
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As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am. As long as I can communicate, I'm not so lonely. If I cannot travel, or do art, or have company, if they take away all my belongings, it doesn't matter 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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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.
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Measuring national prestige by gold medals is like using Viagra to judge the potency of a man.
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No state or society can claim to have established human rights once and for all.
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I never think any place is better than others.
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You can never know what is and what is not powerful, but you can always find out what the powerful people are scared of. A state like China looks so powerful, but they are so scared of the Internet, so the Internet is more powerful than them.
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Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China's society is opening.
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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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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don't care about culture.
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We see the tendency in the world to criticise democracy and sometimes even to say that authoritarian countries like China are more efficient. That is very short-sighted. China looks efficient only because it can sacrifice most people's rights. This is not something the west should be happy about.
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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.
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The demand for individual freedom leads us to different realms, and it enables us to participate in social events.
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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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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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For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
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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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