Quote

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

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
Like
Directors
Outside
Future
Moment
Sense
Privileged
Moments
Director
Going
Somehow
Time
China

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

Image
Individual that means he has his own special way to communicate, which creates the form of him. In the information age, this expression and communication has become so different.
Ai Weiwei
Image
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.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I'm not nostalgic about the old city. I don't enjoy it that much.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.
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
The purpose of art is the fight for freedom.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets of judgment.
Ai Weiwei
Image
The biggest obstacle in interacting with China is the difference in perspectives about basic values. These include issues such as human rights, the concept of law and constitution.
Ai Weiwei
Image
Now many enterprises are made by individuals, so the attitude has started to change.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I'm most embarrassed at my art shows, even though I don't show it.
Ai Weiwei
Image
China's culture and history are closely related to my living environment. This country is my birthplace. It is also where I grew up. Its culture and history shape my relations with family, friends, society, and daily life.
Ai Weiwei
Image
All the rich people collect traditional Chinese art. So it's very natural for Chinese families to still see art as the highest human performance and send their children to this field.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.
Ai Weiwei
Image
I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.
Ai Weiwei
Image
If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.
Ai Weiwei
Image
The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
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
You need a purpose to express yourself, but that expression is its own purpose.
Ai Weiwei
Image
My typical day is I wake up and appreciate that I can still wake up.
Ai Weiwei