Ai Weiwei Quotes - Page 2

Creativity is the power to act.

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

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.

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

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 have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself.

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.

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

During the days in detention, I thought most about the moon.

Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.

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

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

If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?

We should also leave behind discrimination, because it is narrow-minded and ignorant, denies contact and warmth; and corrodes mankind's belief that we can better ourselves. The only way to avoid misunderstanding, war and bloodshed is to defend freedom of expression and to communicate with sincerity, concern and good intentions.

Say what you say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.

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?

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

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

For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political. You don't have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.

To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.

This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.

People have a tendency to become elite rather than to care about the general conditions of the society, which makes me sick. It's an unbearable condition.

No state or society can claim to have established human rights once and for all.

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

I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.