Ai Weiwei
The Disruptor
Contrarian and drawn to the edge; challenges the settled answer.
Ai Weiwei is a prominent artist and activist known for his outspoken views on human rights and freedom of expression. This interview reveals his commitment to sparking change and mobilizing people against oppressive systems, showcasing his role as a disruptor in the art world and beyond.
“Chairman Mao or Mao Zedong is a very special person, I would say. A person in the historical context, nobody can judge anybody without this kind of historical contact. People are farmers, families in Hunan, but he's so knowledgeable about Chinese literature and history. His whole life like the room like this was full of old documents.”
“So then I have an asshole to do. My father told me, hey, this is your home. You don't have to act like a guest. You should do whatever you want to do. And I still cannot adjust myself. I still become a guest of my country because the country never have any nostalgia feeling about it. All I have is bad feelings.”
“You're talking about 30 years of history. I went to the United States first when I was 24. And I studied in New York for a short time. And let me make short, I was very poor, I was a foreigner. I don't speak words of English. And the first words I learned is excuse me. I think that is so difficult for me to excuse me.”
“Well, I started early when US invade Iraq that time I was in New York. I was in part of this anti-war coverage. I take my photos and the demonstration. I realized the one demonstrate have less people than the police. Police on the two sides of the street for the bypasser you cannot even see demonstrators only see police there.”
The Rest Is Politics: Leading — 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art
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