Quote

I spent a lot of time standing on street corners [of New York City] talking to local residents. I spent time in bookstores and galleries. But most of the time, I really did not have much to do.

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
Spent
Much
Street
Galleries
Really
York
Bookstores
Time
Residents
Standing
Gallery
City
Locals
Streets
Local
Cities
Corners
Talking

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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Beijing is constructing a 100,000 m2 modern art museum, yet it will not feature any of my work.
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This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the quality of their lives.
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Civilization has evolved toward more acceptance, understanding and tolerance of global thinking. If we accept differences, our creativity booms. It makes life much more colorful. It also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
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Art needs to stand for something.
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I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.
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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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A city is a place that can offer maximum freedom. Otherwise it’s incomplete.
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New York has given me a lot, but I still don't consider it home.
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Liberty is about the right to question everything.
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I'm a free man now, except I cannot leave China. You know, I have no desire to travel. I have so many things to do I cannot finish them now.
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I'm not a writer, but today I think you have to be everything. As an artist you have an obligation to let people know what is on your mind and why you're doing this.
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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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If I really have nothing to do, I just watch my cats, take some photos, and go back to my personal blog.
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If people are being abused or even killed during an arrest, this is highly disturbing.
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Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness
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I saw [Allen Ginsberg] more as an old man who liked poetry and who had a lot of physical and emotional problems. We liked our time together.
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Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare.
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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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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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A nation like China has become one of the biggest production fields for exporting cheap labor, which also re-questions our history and past, re-questions human desire, and the human illusions of the past.
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