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So-called Chinese art and culture is under control of the Party. They exist to serve the official agenda. I call it fake art and culture.

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
Call
Agendas
Party
Officials
Culture
Fake
Art
Chinese
Serve
Exist
Control
Official
Called
Agenda

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I don't believe in the so-called Olympic spirit. I speak from personal experience. When China hosted the Games, it failed to include the people. The event was constructed without regard for their joy.
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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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Liberty is about the right to question everything.
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I don't personally feel any association with a kind of culture related to state, or culture related to power, which I think is always disgusting.
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We have to give our opinion, we have to say something, or we are a part of it. As an artist I am forced to say something.
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Freedom of speech implies the world isn’t defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way.
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I have to find a place for my own. I have to search for my own happiness.
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No outdoor sports can be more elegant than throwing stones at autocracy no melees can be more exciting than those in cyberspace.
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My understanding of Chinese history is limited. So far, I have only scratched its surface I wish I could find out more.
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I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it. They see how dramatic U.S. has to be put this kind of shame on its own - cannot handle the situation. Or show such a difficulty with this liberal ideas. Men or women created equal. And to defend those very essential ideas.
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Warhol came from an ordinary family and he had a profound understanding about capitalism and material culture. He was probably one of the few Western artists - or artists from the United States - that could be considered a true product of his time and brought out that kind of spirit of the culture.
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You only have temporary curiosity, amusement, and challenges, but that does not necessarily mean you are really convinced that it's necessary or that it's not even worth to do it. It's just a way you have to set up some kind of activities to follow your instincts or your curiosities.
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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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Liberty is about our rights to question everything.
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Everyone wants an iPhone, but it would be impossible to design an iPhone in China because it's not a product it's an understanding of human nature.
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There are many cases and layers of racist behavior in the US - from police treatment to the issues of education and job opportunities. In America, however, such cases are being discussed publically.
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[Cultural departments] don't care about culture. Maybe they're the furthest from the people who understand culture.
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I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
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Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it.
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I think U.S. and China is a big opportunity, to be seen as partner or some kind of strategic partner maybe. But those kind of powers have a way of getting too big, then we'll have competition. And who is going to win the competition if U.S. cannot hold a strong ideology? And even the U.S. would've lost the ground to win.
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