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If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.

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
Human
Humans
Discussed
Openly
Supposed
Meaning
Rights

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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If a master, a wise and experienced man, wields a great weapon, that's beautiful. He can serve peace with it. But if someone's emotions are imbalanced, even if he has the best equipment, he will still mean danger. Modern technology requires calm. You shouldn't trust anyone with a car who has no knowledge about vehicles or roads.
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If a society cannot even support somebody like me, then people ask: Who is under protection then? That's why there is such support for me. It is not because I am so beautiful or I am so charming. People feel: This guy is fighting for us.
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It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and attitude than producing some product.
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The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
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I always want people to be confused, to be shocked or realize something later.
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I don't think China has professional museums - not in the past, present, or near future.
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To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.
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Freedom of speech implies the world isn’t defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way.
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China and the U.S. are two societies with very different attitudes towards opinion and criticism. In China, I am constantly under surveillance. Even my slightest, most innocuous move can - and often is - censored by Chinese authorities.
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I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.
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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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A nation that has no music and no fairytales is a tragedy.
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In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or independent is a pretence. It is impossible for a totalitarian society to create anything with passion and imagination.
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Today, we jump into this globalization of the economy and the internet age.
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Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.
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China restricts the society's freedom of speech. The Communist Party imposes these limits because it lacks confidence towards the future and has no ideals. Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.
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A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
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I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That's the beauty of the Internet Age.
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I don't think China should care if this crazy old guy should have a show here or not. You have so many museums in the West, and so many shows, you need somebody to show the work, otherwise it's empty.
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