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I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn't move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

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
Moving
Back
Visa
Many
Alien
Even
Aliens
Years
Illegal
Moved
Couldn
Move

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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For all the tough talk about China during the presidential debates, Romney and Obama evaded any mention of China's suspect human rights record, corruption, and rule of law. By not tackling these controversial topics, the candidates are protecting a strategic partnership with China at the expense of essential human values and beliefs.
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Every day I'm learning something new from the practice. It's very rewarding.
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What counts in the end is what the government does.
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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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I'm always interested in people who are not orientated in art circles to become part of it.
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I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.
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In the end, I think, the state's rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
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People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It's an unbearable condition.
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Any politician who respects China's government should tell it openly what is in his heart. It is disrespectful to keep quiet about such issues - both vis-a-vis the government and the people concerned.
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Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.
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We are living in a popular culture where everything is overexposed.
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The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.
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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.
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Everyone of us is a potential convict.
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Imagine one day, the hateful world around you collapses. And it is your attitude, words and actions that put an end to it. Will you be excited?
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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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I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.
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The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
Ai Weiwei
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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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I don't think I was very structured in that society and I don't really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.
Ai Weiwei