Ai Weiwei Quotations | Page 2

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?

Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.

I loved New York—every inch of it. It was a little bit scary at that time, but still, the excitement was so strong—visually and intellectually. It was like a monster.

I think by not letting young people be fully informed, how can they have energy and passion and the right picture of the world? I think that's the true crime.

I have to find a place for my own. I have to search for my own happiness.

Life is never guaranteed to be safe, so we better use it while we are still in good condition.

Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.

In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want—not only you, your whole family and all people like you.

The Internet changes the structure of society all the time—this massiveness made of individuals.

We move so fast that memory is something we can only grasp

I think it's more important to show your work to the public.

To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.

Once you've tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.

Democracy, material wealth, and universal education are the soil upon which modernism exists.

The so-called culture nowadays is only a fake one with a superficial front. It is an empty lie.

All movies in China are censored. Out of 600 movies produced in China, only 60 are allowed to show in theatres.

My musician friends are banned from playing concerts in China because they share the same views as I do. My name cannot appear on the web, because my opinion is different from the Party.

Modern Chinese culture is weak and lackluster.

So-called Chinese art and culture is under control of the Party. They exist to serve the official agenda. I call it fake art and culture.

My understanding of Chinese history is limited. So far, I have only scratched its surface; I wish I could find out more.

Beijing is constructing a 100,000 m2 modern art museum, yet it will not feature any of my work.

The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security. A clear understanding of such differences will help the rest of the world understand China and all that is happening to the nation.

China seems unpredictable because it has a distinct culture and social system. It is still a mystery to other parts of the world, even though the veil of China has been lifted many times as a result of globalization.

China spends a lot of resources and effort on gaining soft power over culture. The hope is that it can be the last lifeline for the Party's survival. Obviously, the idea will fail.

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.

There is no media freedom in China. As a result, the society is corrupt and lacks productivity. It is unable to adjust itself for progress. This will lead to the country's eventual downfall.

What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.

Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.

The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society's level of civilization.

We live in changing times, and many people experience the challenges that come with it. In the face of uncertain futures, no one will know what to expect.

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.

The demand for individual freedom leads us to different realms, and it enables us to participate in social events.

China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.

I hope that my work expresses my worldview and encourages people to exchange ideas.

Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.

If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?

Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.

Art needs to stand for something.

When human beings are scared and feel everything is exposed to the government, we will censor ourselves from free thinking. That's dangerous for human development.

The practice of photography is no longer a means for recording reality. Instead, it has become reality itself

Once you've tasted freedom, it stays in your throat.

The people who control culture in China have no culture.

I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.

In an environment without public platform nor protection, the individual is the most powerful and most responsible.

Dont retreat. Retweet!

Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness

I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.

The idea to use backpacks came from my visit to Sichuan after the earthquake in May 2008. During the earthquake many schools collapsed. Thousands of young students lost their lives, and you could see bags and study material everywhere. Then you realize individual life, media, and the lives of the students are serving very different purposes. The lives of the students disappeared within the state propaganda, and very soon everybody will forget everything.

A historical property has morals and ethics of the society that created it and it can be revived. What I mean is that we can discover new possibilities from the process of dismantling, transforming, and recreating.

My childhood was quite extreme. Sometimes I was so weak I could not stand up. But now I am so strong. Life is unpredictable

You need a purpose to express yourself, but that expression is its own purpose.

The purpose of art is the fight for freedom,

Twitter is most suitable for me. In the Chinese language, 140 characters is a novella,

No matter what happens, nothing can prevent the historical process by which society demands freedom and democracy,

There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.

If Shakespeare were alive today, he might be writing on Twitter.

These are nonviolent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas.... In truth, they are heroes of our time.

No outdoor sports can be more elegant than throwing stones at autocracy; no melees can be more exciting than those in cyberspace.

I'm a free man now, except I cannot leave China. You know, I have no desire to travel. I have so many things to do; I cannot finish them now.

My work is always a ready-made... cultural, political, or social, and also it could be art - to make people re-look at what we have done, its original position, to create new possibilities.

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...

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.

I will never leave China, unless I am forced to. Because China is mine. I will not leave something that belongs to me in the hands of people I do not trust.

Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare.

Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.

Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.

I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That's the beauty of the Internet Age.

A city is a place that can offer maximum freedom. Otherwise it’s incomplete.

Measuring national prestige by gold medals is like using Viagra to judge the potency of a man.

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.

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.

Anyone fighting for freedom does not want to totally lose their freedom.

To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling. It is to wonder about the world, to understand the nature of people and, most importantly, to be shared with another, old or young, known or unknown.

Only with the Internet can a peasant I have never met hear my voice and I can learn what's on his mind. A fairy tale has come true.

I have to speak out for people around me who are afraid, who think it is not worth it or who have totally given up hope. So I want to set an example: you can do it and this is okay, to speak out.

Freedom of speech implies the world isn’t defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way.

If you don’t act, the danger becomes stronger.

Freedom of expression is a very essential condition for me to make any art. Also, it is an essential value for my life. I have to protect this right and also to fight for the possibility.

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.

The world is a sphere, there is no East or West.

If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.

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.

Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it.

I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.

Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression.

I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art.

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.

Whenever there is injustice, there is tension. But in China it is very hard to release your anger unless you burn yourself or you jump from a bridge. In a society where there is no freedom of the press, it is difficult for victims to be noticed.

I always thought that in modern history Chinese people are like a dish of sand, never really close together. But I think a dish of sand is a good metaphor because we have the Internet. We don't have to be physically united. You can be an individual and have your own set of values but join others in certain struggles. There is nothing more powerful than that.

Artists are the worst [people]. They are selfish, self-centred; they don't care what happens.

Every day I'm learning something new from the practice. It's very rewarding.

The deadly weapon against totalitarian society is openness - doing everything very openly on the Internet, letting people know every detail, any little development. Once it is out there, everybody can make their own judgement. [Therefore] holding a trial outside the court. I think that is fairness, that is justice, that is a civil society. Otherwise call it an evil society because everything is hidden.

If I walk on the street, if I go to a restaurant, people come to me and say: "Can we take a photo together? Can you give me your autograph?" They would bring their expensive Armani or Prada wallet to sign. Other people who are desperate show me a photo of their dead daughter and ask: Can you support me? I tell them: How can I? Morally, of course, I sympathize with you. But I cannot support you and you cannot support me. This is the condition of this society. We are separated.

It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road and what is the limit.

China partially wants to become part of the world. By hosting the Olympics and the Expo, they made a big effort to tell people: Look, we are the same. They want to be accepted by the international community.

If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?

The IT people who have made such an effort to know and understand computer technology. They are frustrated that you cannot use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in China. They are the first to recognize that the situation is terrible.

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.

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.

I remember one little rainy day I went searching for this apartment and I saw so many people standing on a stoop on the corner in the rain. Later I realized, that was drug traffic. They were all buying drugs.