Ai Weiwei Quotes
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I’ve never planned any part of my career-except being an artist. And I was pushed into that corner because I thought being an artist was the only way to have a little freedom.
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I spend very little time just doing ''art as art.'
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The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.
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Art is not an end but a beginning.
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I came to art because I wanted to escape the other regulations of the society. The whole society is so political. But the irony is that my art becomes more and more political.
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Not an inch of the land belongs to you, but every inch could easily imprison you.
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I often ask myself if I am afraid of being detained again. I love freedom as much as anybody else, maybe more than most. But it is a tragedy to live your life in fear. It is worse than actually losing your freedom.
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They the government cannot stop people from communicating freely, to get information and to express themselves. When they do that, this nation is not a right place to live. They sacrifice generations of people’s opportunities. This is a crime.
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I don’t have this concept that separates my art from my daily life. They are one thing to me. They are always one. How do you find the way to express yourself and how to communicate with others?
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China might seem quite successful in its controls, but it has only raised the water level. It’s like building a dam: it thinks there is more water so it will build higher. But every drop of water is still in there. It doesn’t understand how to let the pressure out. It builds up a way to maintain control and push the problem to the next generation.
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I lost all connection with the outside world and was immersed in a world of darkness. I was scared that my existence would fade silently. No one knew where I was, and no one would ever know. I was just like a small soybean-once fallen to the ground, it rolls into a crack in the corner. Being unable to make any sounds, it will forever be forgotten.
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One of the reasons religions are widely accepted is spiritual laziness and its resulting fear.
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Because of the economic crisis, China and the United States are bound together. This is a totally new phenomenon, and nobody will fight for ideology anymore. It’s all about business.
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The 81 days of detention were a nightmare. I am not unique; it happened to many people in China. Conditions were extreme, created by a system that thinks it is above the law and has become a kind of monstrous machine. There were so many moments when I felt desperate and hopeless. But still, the next morning, I heard the birds singing.
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Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught.
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The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It’s as simple as that.
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During the days in detention, I thought most about the moon.
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'Everything is art. Everything is politics.'
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I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
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When the mayor of Nagoya denies the Nanjing Massacre, he gets blacklisted by the city of Nanjing. When the government of Sichuan denies 'tofu dregs' construction which caused the collapse of several schools, they get blacklisted by me.
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But censorship by itself doesn’t work. It is, as Mao said, about the pen and the gun.
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I’m not sure I’m good at art, but I find an escape in it.
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To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason.
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Tips on surviving the regime: Respect yourself and speak for others. Do one small thing every day to prove the existence of justice.