Ai Weiwei Quotes

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

Today, the general masses in this society are in this political-social condition that really encourages people to become rich and become a star and be unique.

In the '80s, you couldn't walk in the neighborhood without looking back to see if anyone was following you. You had your key in your hand before you got to your apartment and you'd rush in so you didn't have to stop.

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.

New York was not a romantic city at [80th]. Nobody knows who you are and you don't have to care about anybody else. It's a very cold city, I should say.

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

When I first got into the first-year study after the Cultural Revolution, got into the same school with this group, I wasn't conscious of the so-called "Fifth Generation." I didn't like that kind of study condition because there's no real, true education there.

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.

The tragic reality of today is reflected in the true plight of our spiritual existence. We are spineless and cannot stand straight.

Choices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?

I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years. We literally lived underground. We dug a hole and lived there for years. My father cleaned public toilets, even though he was a highly respected poet. Nationality and borders are barriers to our intelligence, to our imagination and to all kinds of possibilities.

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

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.

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

Of course, there [in China] has to be chaos. It has to be crazy, and I don't think there's anything wrong about it except this government, which is really incapable of doing anything meaningful.

I curated this show [Shanghai Biennale ], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial.

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

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.

Everyone thinks the Chinese government selected me. Never ever. I was selected by Herzog and de Meuron.

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.

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

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

If it's possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head - the project or a few ideas which are not finished or if there are possible directions and what will lead into another game. It's always like setting up some kind of game you can continuously play.

After I came back [to China], there was still a long period of time when I felt I had nothing to do.

Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming even more unpredictable. There's no such thing as "fixed" culture. China is also becoming more global. Its problems are becoming international problems, becoming German problems, becoming American problems. Nothing is clear-cut. Perhaps I'll find my way - or get totally lost.

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

By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.

It [success] is really by mistake.

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

I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom

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

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.

The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.

Modern Chinese culture is weak and lackluster.

Historically, China is not a nation of sportsmen. We traditionally put more emphasis on being close to nature than pushing endlessly to excel. A philosophy that values tranquil contemplation of the landscape cannot easily be adapted to the Olympic slogan of 'higher, stronger, faster.'

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.

I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.

I think Donald Trump should cool down a little bit. To pay more attention to the history. To really understand what U.S.'s value is about. I think, as a president, those things you always have to ask.

The rest of the world understands little about China's changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.

For those actors and directors who produce films which are always about the old kingdom or about heroes, you know about the fantasies related to the classics, but there is no real discussion about today's life and no discussion of the real conditions - which is really sickening. They've become part of a conspiracy, collaborators of the crime, which is lying to the general public and trying to hide the kind of criminal acts happening in many cases.

I spent a lot of time standing on street corners [of New York City] talking to local residents. I spent time in bookstores and galleries. But most of the time, I really did not have much to do.

Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you. But personally, I don't think my work and my understanding of art is so much related to being Chinese, but the character of that. Maybe it's beyond my own consciousness.

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.

I can still wake up the next day and feel that there's something that needs to be done, which always amuses me.

To give a price to an artwork, no matter how high or low, is always absurd. It's not something that can be measured by money or by certain numbers.

I call on people to be 'obsessed citizens,' forever questioning and asking for accountability. That's the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.

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.

I am very much interested in the so-called useless object. I mean, it takes perfect craftsmanship, beautiful material carefully measured and crafted, but at the same time it’s really useless.