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I don't belong to a working system. They only select people if you belong to one so you can be controlled.

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
Controlled
Belong
System
Working
People
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More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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In the end, I think, the state's rigidity is a function of its own insecurity, its indecisiveness.
Ai Weiwei
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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
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In China, we don't have any contemporary art museums. Until a few years ago, we didn't even have a gallery.
Ai Weiwei
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There are many cases and layers of racist behavior in the US - from police treatment to the issues of education and job opportunities. In America, however, such cases are being discussed publically.
Ai Weiwei
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I never had a sense of home.
Ai Weiwei
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I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.
Ai Weiwei
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It is not an easy job to govern China, I am aware of that. There are crises and emergencies all the time, we might not even be aware of some. But I am afraid we'll have to wait and observe precisely what the government is up to.
Ai Weiwei
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Technology is a liberation. I think the information age probably is the best thing to happen to the human race in human evolution. Now you have the equal opportunity to equip yourself through information and knowledge and express yourself as an independent mind.
Ai Weiwei
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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
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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.
Ai Weiwei
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Modern Chinese culture is weak and lackluster.
Ai Weiwei
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Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.
Ai Weiwei
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Liberty is about the right to question everything.
Ai Weiwei
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I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.
Ai Weiwei
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The society was so different [in China] - it was a feudalistic society. It didn't come to a point of industrial revolution until twenty years ago.
Ai Weiwei
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My angst and my insecurity reflect the state's angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.
Ai Weiwei
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After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.
Ai Weiwei
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The Internet changes the structure of society all the time — this massiveness made of individuals.
Ai Weiwei
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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.
Ai Weiwei
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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