Quote

I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.

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
Even
Ginsberg
Really
Allen
Never
Gave
Poetry
Though
Read
Book

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

Image
If there's the right condition, I always want to express the concept or ideas in a very independent way.
Ai Weiwei
Image
China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.
Ai Weiwei
Image
The museums used to be exhibition halls for government propaganda, and now every city wants to build a museum. A few thousand are to be built in the next few years, all using taxpayer money. But there is no system, no research, no content, no good programs, no good managers.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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.
Ai Weiwei
Image
There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Censorship is saying: I'm the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine. But the internet is like a tree that is growing. The people will always have the last word – even if someone has a very weak, quiet voice. Such power will collapse because of a whisper.
Ai Weiwei
Image
The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It's as simple as that.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I call on people to be 'obsessed citizens,' forever questioning and asking for accountability. That's the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
Ai Weiwei
Image
In the end, I think, the state's rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I don't think [price] reflects if the work is good or bad.A good artist shouldn't be nervous about that.
Ai Weiwei
Image
If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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
Image
To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. It's a very complicated process to do large projects. You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I came back [to Beijing ] because that's the only time I had an excuse to come back, or otherwise I would never have a reason to come back.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.
Ai Weiwei
Image
We should use this public sphere and redefine - beyond China's borders - what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen's privacy begins.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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.
Ai Weiwei