Weiwei Artist Quotes & Sayings

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. — Ai Weiwei

I say, break the law. — Henry David Thoreau

Warhol came from an ordinary family and he had a profound understanding about capitalism and material culture. He was probably one of the few Western artists - or artists from the United States - that could be considered a true product of his time and brought out that kind of spirit of the culture. — Ai Weiwei

An artwork unable to make people feel uncomfortable or to feel different is not one worth creating. This is the difference between the artist and the fool. — Ai Weiwei

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

I think it's a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power. — Ai Weiwei

People are always wondering if I am an artist or political activist or politician. Maybe I'll just clearly tell you: Whatever I do is not art. Let's say it is just objects or materials, movies or writing, but not art, OK? — Ai Weiwei

I'm not a writer, but today I think you have to be everything. As an artist you have an obligation to let people know what is on your mind and why you're doing this. — Ai Weiwei

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

Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something. — Ai Weiwei

Now, more than ever, the choice between Obama and Romney will be which one do you want to ruin your country? — Doug Wead

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. — Ai Weiwei

To protect the right of expression is the central part of an artist's activity ... In China many essential rights are lacking, and I wanted to remind people of this. — Ai Weiwei

The pounding music, the cheers, the admiration work their way into my blood, and I can't suppress my excitement. Cinna has given me a great advantage. No one will forget me. Not my look, not my name. Katniss. The girl who was on fire. For — Suzanne Collins

Ai Weiwei, who is both a widely admired conceptual artist and a fearless human-rights activist, has been on the bad side of the Chinese government for years. — Terry Teachout

'Commonwealth' is not a word I ever used growing up in Colombo. There, in the late 1950s, it would have meant little more than New Zealand lamb and Anchor butter at the cold stores. — Romesh Gunesekera

The conceptual artist Ai WeiWei illustrates the schizoid society that rapid change has produced - sometimes by reassembling Ming-style furniture into absurd and useless arrangements, or by carefully painting and antiquing a Coca-Cola logo on an ancient Chinese pot. — Arne Glimcher

From conversations with her husband she was aware that the static came from a number of sources such as the atmosphere, other electrical equipment and even, incredibly, an amount from the noise of radiation emitted in the origin of the universe's Big Bang. To her however, it was the sounds of the souls of countless millions of people who had perished in this international disaster, brushing past her in the ether on their way to the afterlife. — Antony J. Stanton

I am here to make you think ... I am not here to make pretty pictures! — Mark Rothko

I'm an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I'm always looking to extend the boundaries. — Ai Weiwei