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Ai Weiwei is one of China's most influential and inspiring figures. Artist, architect, curator, and activist, he has been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government's stance on human rights and democracy. His work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Guangzhou Triennial, Tate Modern, the Smithsonian, and other venues throughout the world. Larry Warsh has been active in the art world for more than thirty years. He has collaborated with Ai Weiwei on several projects, including the public art installation Circle of Animals / Zodiac Heads (2010). Warsh is a former member of the Contemporary Arts Council of the Asia Society and the Contemporary Arts Committee of the China Institute. He has also served on the boards of the Museum of Contemporary Art, China; the Alliance for the Arts; and the Getty Museum Photographs Council. He is currently on the board of Muse Film and Television and is a member of the Basquiat Authentication Committee.

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"Ai Weiwei is unquestionably one of the most important artists of our time. His practice encompasses the production of objects, the circulation of information, and politics in a manner that is absolutely unique. This worthy compilation of short quotations will introduce a broad audience to his thought and activism, and makes clear the scope and span of this truly global artist."--David Joselit, author ofAfter Art

"First, there was Confucius. Then, the sayings of Chairman Mao. And now the pithy, ironic, and humorous insights of Ai Weiwei. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection, which reflects a well-developed philosophy as well as a keen understanding of the Chinese Communist system. This is China made easy and interesting."--Jerome A. Cohen, New York University

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"Ai Weiwei is unquestionably one of the most important artists of our time. His practice encompasses the production of objects, the circulation of information, and politics in a manner that is absolutely unique. This worthy compilation of short quotations will introduce a broad audience to his thought and activism, and makes clear the scope and span of this truly global artist."--David Joselit, author ofAfter Art

"First, there was Confucius. Then, the sayings of Chairman Mao. And now the pithy, ironic, and humorous insights of Ai Weiwei. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this collection, which reflects a well-developed philosophy as well as a keen understanding of the Chinese Communist system. This is China made easy and interesting."--Jerome A. Cohen, New York University

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Weiwei-isms

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS

Contents

INTRODUCTION..........................................................viiOn Freedom of Expression..............................................1On Art and Activism...................................................23On Government, Power, and Making Moral Choices........................39On the Digital World..................................................69On History, the Historical Moment, and the Future.....................77Personal Reflections..................................................91SOURCES...............................................................103CHRONOLOGY............................................................117ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................127

Chapter One

Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it. (1)

* * *

A small act is worth a million thoughts. (2)

* * *

Liberty is about our rights to question everything. (3)

* * *

Freedom of speech implies the world isn't defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way. (8:16 p.m. December 22, 2011; 4)

* * *

The world is not changing if you don't shoulder the burden of responsibility. (4:19 p.m. December 2, 2009; 4)

* * *

Freedom of expression is a very essential condition for me to make any art. Also, it is an essential value for my life. I have to protect this right and also to fight for the possibility. (5)

* * *

My favorite word? It's "act." (6)

* * *

Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be. (7)

* * *

If you don't act, the danger becomes stronger. (8)

* * *

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. (9)

* * *

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. (10)

* * *

Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers can delay that freedom, but they cannot stop it. (11)

* * *

I want people to see their own power. (2)

* * *

Citizens should bear the responsibility to act. (12)

* * *

China [is a] society which forbids any flow of the information and freedom of speech. This is on record, so everybody should know this. (13)

* * *

They all ask: Why? Why is it that this man's name [Ai Weiwei] can never be typed on a Chinese computer or the whole sentence will disappear? (14)

* * *

A land that rejects the truth, barricades itself against change and lacks the spirit of freedom is hopeless. (9)

* * *

Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one. (9)

* * *

This simple form of repression, of using the method of not letting anyone speak, will never succeed. (15)

* * *

Writers, artists, and commentators on websites are detained or thrown into jail when they reflect on democracy, opening up, reform and reason. This is the reality of China. (16)

* * *

But censorship by itself doesn't work. It is, as Mao said, about the pen and the gun. (17)

* * *

The biggest crime of a dictatorship is to eradicate human feelings from people. (18)

* * *

In an environment without public platform nor protection, the individual is the most powerful and most responsible. (6:43 p.m. January 9, 2011; 19)

* * *

House arrest, travel restrictions, surveillance, stopping phone service, cutting the Internet connection. What we can still do is greet the crazy motherland once again. (5:58 a.m. December 9, 2010; 20)

* * *

At midnight they can come into your room and take you away. They can put a black hood on you, take you to a secret place and interrogate you, trying to stop what you're doing. They threaten people, your family, saying: "Your children won't find jobs." (17)

* * *

The individual under this kind of life, with no rights, has absolutely no power in this land. How can they even ask you for creativity? Or imagination, or courage or passion? (21)

* * *

Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward. (22)

* * *

Living in a system under the Communist ideology, an artist cannot avoid fighting for freedom of expression. You always have to be aware that art is not only a self-expression but a demonstration of human rights and dignity. To express yourself freely, a right as personal as it is, has always been difficult, given the political situation. (23)

* * *

The fundamental problem is not that there are limits on voicing different opinions here. The problem is that the whole society is dying through lack of responsibility or involvement. (22)

* * *

We should 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. (24)

* * *

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. (12)

* * *

What can they do besides exile [me] or make me disappear? They have no imagination or creativity. (5:41 p.m. November 19, 2009; 4)

* * *

I cannot ever accept the kind of conditions where you can sacrifice someone's rights. (12)

* * *

To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason. (25)

* * *

My voice is not for me. Every time I make a sentence I think how many people for how many generations had a voice that no one could hear. At most they will be remembered as numbers; in many cases, even numbers don't exist. (26)

* * *

I also have to speak out for people around me who are afraid, who think it is not worth it or who have totally given up hope. So I want to set an example: you can do it and this is okay, to speak out. (27)

* * *

I tell people that because you don't bear any responsibility, you put me in danger. If we all say the same thing, then I think the government has to listen. But because no one is saying it, I become singled out, even though what I'm saying is common sense. It's very essential values that we all have to protect. But in Chinese society, people are giving up on protecting these values. (28)

* * *

You know, if they can do this to me they can do this to anybody, and they have been doing this for over sixty years.... it's a very strange world. (29)

* * *

If there is one who's not free, then I am not free. If there is one who suffers, then I suffer. (6:38 p.m. August 23, 2009; 4)

* * *

I have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself. (29)

* * *

My messages are temporary and shouldn't be our permanent condition. And like the wind it will pass. We'll have another wind coming. (28)

* * *

ON THE DETENTION OF ACTIVIST LIU XIAOBO:

This does not mean a meteor has fallen. This is the discovery of a star. (30)

ON BLIND ACTIVIST CHEN GUANGCHENG'S ESCAPE FROM CONFINEMENT IN APRIL 2012:

The most unfair things that could have happened in a society fell upon a blind man. This is something that no one can accept or explain away with any excuse. Everyone will ask: "Do we actually have to exist in a society like this?" (15)

ON THE 2008 OLYMPICS IN CHINA:

No matter how long our politicians order people to sing songs of praise, no matter how many fireworks they launch into the heavens, and no matter how many foreign leaders they embrace, they cannot arouse a genuine mood of joy and celebration among the people. (31)

* * *

It is as difficult [for Chinese politicians] to get a real smile [from the people] as it is to keep the sky blue and clouds white. (31)

* * *

The Olympics are an opportunity to redefine the country, but the message is always wrong. (32)

* * *

They tell us it will be about "emotions" and "friendship," that it will be a night of joy. Who are they kidding? (31)

* * *

A fine line separates Chinese intellectuals and professors from the political gangsters who protect them. (33)

* * *

Measuring national prestige by gold medals is like using Viagra to judge the potency of a man. (34)

* * *

The 2008 Olympics has created an illusion of China to the public and to the outside world. It is so fantastic, so unreal, that the entire meaning of the games is being distorted. (31)

* * *

Anyone who cares about truth should avoid not politics, but Olympic lies. (31)

* * *

It is absurd that so much money has been wasted on manipulating public opinion, on simulating emotion. 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. (31)

* * *

[The Olympics are] an event manipulated into misleading people into believing that we have entered a new, successful and harmonious period in our history. This is not true. (22)

* * *

Today China and the world will meet again. People will see that the planet is now smaller than at any time in history, that mankind should bid farewell to arrogance and indifference, to ignorance and discrimination, and understand that we share the same small piece of land. It will be a time to rediscover each other, to share what is good in life, to look each other in the eye and link all ten fingers. (24)

Chapter Two

Everything is art. Everything is politics. (35)

* * *

The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay. (36)

* * *

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don't feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy. (37)

* * *

Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught. (38)

* * *

I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art. (39)

* * *

It's never about me. [My supporters] use me as a mark for themselves to recognize their own form of life: I become their medium. I am always very clear about that. (40)

* * *

"Why are you so concerned about society?" That is always the question. And my answer is simple: "Because you are an artist, you have to associate yourself with freedom of expression." (41)

* * *

I think it's a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power. (42)

* * *

If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it's a human need. (43)

* * *

My work has always been political, because the choice of being an artist is political in China. (44)

* * *

I think restrictions are an essential condition in the fight for freedom of expression. It's also a source for any kind of creativity. (43)

* * *

The Chinese authorities think of artists as prostitutes. And in reality it's true: in the Communist system artists just represent what the power structure seeks them to represent. It is prostitution. (22)

* * *

I think all aesthetic judgments—all the aesthetic choices we are making—are moral choices. They cannot escape the moral dimension in the broader sense. It has to relate to the philosophical understanding of who we are and how so-called "art and culture" functions in today's world. (44)

* * *

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. (45)

* * *

My activism is a part of me. If my art has anything to do with me, then my activism is part of my art. (46)

* * *

I spend very little time just doing "art as art." (40)

* * *

To me, to be political means you associate your work with a larger number of people's living conditions, and that includes both mental and physical conditions. And you try to use your work to affect the situation. (44)

* * *

Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something. (9)

* * *

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. (6)

* * *

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. (47)

* * *

Very few people know why art sells so high. I don't even know. (48)

* * *

Antiques exist as evidence of the cultural tracks we made in the past. (41)

* * *

I'm an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I'm always looking to extend the boundaries. (12)

* * *

I think art certainly is the vehicle for us to develop any new ideas, to be creative, to extend our imagination, to change the current conditions. (42)

* * *

I always want to design a frame that's open to everyone. I don't see art as a secret code. (49)

* * *

Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression. (43)

* * *

My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall. Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don't think art is elite or mysterious. I don't think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate art from politics is itself a very political intention. (50)

* * *

Contemporary art and the [Communist] Party are an impossible situation. It's like oil and water—they can never mix. (22)

* * *

The people who control culture in China have no culture. (51)

* * *

We see plenty of artistic work that reflects superficial social conditions, but very little work that questions fundamental values. (22)

* * *

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. (28)

* * *

You need [to make] something people can realize is art. Otherwise they think you are too political. Sometimes you have to say: "Oh, I am an artist, you know. I can do this." (47)

* * *

I definitely know people who are shameless enough to give up basic values. I see this kind of art, and when I see it I feel ashamed. In China they treat art as some form of decoration, a self-indulgence. It is pretending to be art. It looks like art. It sells like art. But it is really a piece of shit. (37)

* * *

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? (42)

* * *

Myself, I try to search for the new way, always trying to set up a new possibility and to find the new tools to express myself. To reach a broader audience. (14)

* * *

I'm not sure I'm good at art, but I find an escape in it. (52)

ON HIS LANDMARK WORK (1995):

I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable—how we decide what is valuable. (14)

* * *

Art is not an end but a beginning. (23)

Chapter Three

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. (8)

* * *

I don't feel powerful at all. I am still under this kind of detention, and you know, this is kind of a bail. Even yesterday I realized while trying to take care of the baby, [at] the park, [I had] been secretly followed and it's quite fragile. Maybe being powerful means to be fragile. (42)

* * *

I have the responsibility to let the people know what happened to me, and did I commit the crime or if I didn't, what is the real accusation? Why am I in this condition today? I think it reflects our human condition in this piece of land, and if I don't bear some responsibility.... many, many people, their voice can never be heard. (29)

* * *

I feel powerless all the time, but I regain my energy by making a very small difference that won't cost me much. (38)

* * *

In China, there is a long history of the government not revealing information, so it's difficult for the Chinese people to ever know the truth. It is vital that we try to bring that truth to life. (53)

* * *

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. (28)

* * *

What does it matter if China's economy grows when there are no basic protections for its citizens? (53)

* * *

Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human. (10)

* * *

They [the government] really want to maintain power. At the same time, they refuse to communicate. They refuse to have good intentions. They refuse to be sincere. How can that last? (12)

* * *

There is no revolution like the Communist revolution. You simply burn all the books, kill all of the thinking people and use the poor proletariat to create a very simple benchmark to gauge social change. (22)

* * *

China has not established the rule of law and thus there is no justice. (11)

* * *

They don't believe in liberty. They don't believe in China before the Communists. There is only one simple, clear task: to protect their control, to maintain their governing. Which is such a pity. (45)

* * *

The great success of this system is that it makes the general public afraid of taking responsibility, afraid of taking a position or giving a definite answer, or even of making mistakes. (22)

* * *

They have to have an enemy. They have to create you as their enemy in order for them to continue their existence. It's very ironic. (54)

* * *

They know too many things they should not know and they do not know some things they need to know. (55)

* * *

Not an inch of the land belongs to you, but every inch could easily imprison you. (9:10 a.m. May 21, 2010; 4)

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Weiwei-ismsby Ai Weiwei Copyright © 2013 by Ai Weiwei. Excerpted by permission of PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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