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

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

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

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

Image
I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our proposal won the competition. From beginning to end, I stayed with the project. I am committed to fostering relationships between a city and its architecture.
Ai Weiwei
Image
It's always the rich and there's plenty to waste, yet still China has a lot of people living in very spare, poor conditions.
Ai Weiwei
Image
China is at a different stage of development, human rights are violated here much more often. And still, we see improvements even here.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Everything is art. Everything is politics.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I never saw [Allen Ginsberg] as some kind of crazy figure.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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.
Ai Weiwei
Image
No outdoor sports can be more elegant than throwing stones at autocracy no melees can be more exciting than those in cyberspace.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I never think any place is better than others.
Ai Weiwei
Image
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
Ai Weiwei
Image
My image of what a city should be - the super-rich and all the poor and desperate and the people who have some kind of a desire. It's a surviving game, people trying to survive on many different levels.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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.
Ai Weiwei
Image
A city is a place that can offer maximum freedom. Otherwise it’s incomplete.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.
Ai Weiwei
Image
As a total activity - I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Today, we jump into this globalization of the economy and the internet age.
Ai Weiwei
Image
In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.
Ai Weiwei