#ld

You would never say to a man, 'do you like playing strong men?' You just wouldn't say that. ↗

— Rachel Weisz

#like #man #men #never #playing

Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world it is more dangerous. In the west people think it's a right they're born with. Here it's a right given by the government, and one that's not really practised. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#chinese #citizens #constitution #dangerous #express

Everyone wants an iPhone, but it would be impossible to design an iPhone in China because it's not a product; it's an understanding of human nature. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#china #design #everyone #human #human nature

I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#art #chinese #clear #context #directions

I think Chinese leadership is trying to tell the world they have another set of logic or reasoning or values which are different from yours. Of course, I don't think they believe that. It's just an argument that's made when you can't confront the truth and facts. They really want to maintain power. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#argument #believe #chinese #confront #course

Recently I danced in a video spoof of the song 'Gangnam Style,' and it was quickly banned across multiple Chinese online video platforms. But the story still traveled all over the world, carried in hundreds of international media reports. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#banned #carried #chinese #danced #hundreds

So maybe there are three parts in my life - earlier background living in exile in Xinjiang in a very political circumstance, then later the United States from 24 to 36 years old. I was quite equipped with liberal thinking. Then the Internet. If there is no Internet, of course, I cannot really exercise my opinion or my ideas. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#cannot #circumstance #course #earlier #equipped

The Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo show just how much effort China is willing to spend to enter the global stage. But while China desires to understand the world, it fails to accept its universal values. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#beijing #china #desires #effort #enter

The Chinese art world does not exist. 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. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#art #art world #calls #chinese #create

This nation is notorious for its ability to make or fake anything cheaply. 'Made-in-China' goods now fill homes around the world. But our giant country has a small problem. We can't manufacture the happiness of our people. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#anything #around #cheaply #country #fake