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The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society's level of civilization.

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
Yardsticks
Speech
Civilization
Level
Levels
Society
Freedom
Important
Yardstick

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.
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I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.
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I think you can give meaning to any condition you can be poor or unsuccessful or be so-called successful. But I don't think that it would give an individual human being a better condition.
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Selling high or low doesn't mean anything. It has to do purely with the market.
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Society becomes very destructive.
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Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one's imagination - perhaps more importantly - creativity is the power to act.
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Any design, any city, any kind of craziness or tragedy, it all comes from a long time of preparation.
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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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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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I never had a sense of home.
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It's always nice to share your energy with young people, the people who might not have any skills but are simply willing to be a part of it.
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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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For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political. You don't have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
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To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.
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[Being unique] gives so much privilege to people who can make it, rather than having some moral and aesthetic discussions.
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I think I'm just a traveler. When you walk across a river and there's no bridge, you build one. I'm used to having to deal with Chinese Communist ideology - it's not really an ideology, but a method of control. But China's problems are not just China's problems - they're human problems. Humanity has always worked better when you see it as one.
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China hasn't only existed for one day. Now, the whole nation has become richer and it's become a problem. The problem is universal. The factor is big. Everybody has to rethink the balance of the world and the whole landscape.
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Many people are going to use [Beijing National Stadium], which makes it more meaningful. If we don't design it, somebody else has to design it.
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I want people to see their own power.
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I think it's more important to show your work to the public.
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