Weiwei-isms by Weiwei Ai

by Weiwei Ai

This collection of quotes demonstrates the elegant simplicity of Ai Weiwei's thoughts on key aspects of his art, politics, and life. A master at communicating powerful ideas in astonishingly few words, Ai Weiwei is known for his innovative use of social media to disseminate his views. The short quotations presented here have been carefully selected from articles, tweets, and interviews given by this acclaimed Chinese artist and activist. The book is organized into six categories: freedom of expression; art and activism; government, power, and moral choices; the digital world; history, the historical moment, and the future; and personal reflections.

Together, these quotes span some of the most revealing moments of Ai Weiwei's eventful career--from his risky investigation into student deaths in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake to his arbitrary arrest in 2011--providing a window into the mind of one of the world's most electrifying and courageous contemporary artists.

Select Quotes from the Book:

On Freedom of Expression"Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.""A small act is worth a million thoughts.""Liberty is about our rights to question everything."

On Art and Activism"Everything is art. Everything is politics.""The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.""Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don't feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy."

On Government, Power, and Making Moral Choices "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.""I feel powerless all the time, but I regain my energy by making a very small difference that won't cost me much.""Tips on surviving the regime: Respect yourself and speak for others. Do one small thing every day to prove the existence of justice."

On the Digital World "Only with the Internet can a peasant I have never met hear my voice and I can learn what's on his mind. A fairy tale has come true.""The Internet is uncontrollable. And if the Internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It's as simple as that.""The Internet is the best thing that could have happened to China."

On History, the Historical Moment, and the Future "If a nation cannot face its past, it has no future.""We need to get out of the old language.""The world is a sphere, there is no East or West."

Personal Reflections "I've never planned any part of my career-- except being an artist. And I was pushed into that corner because I thought being an artist was the only way to have a little freedom.""Anyone fighting for freedom does not want to totally lose their freedom.""Expressing oneself is like a drug. I'm so addicted to it."

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, China, Philosophy

Hardcover

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Ai Weiwei is one of the world's most important living artists. Born in 1957, He lives in Cambridge.

Reviews

[Ettore Pasquini · Rating 3 out of 5]

The quotes in this tiny book often lack context to make them truly meaningful. In addition, presenting them one after the other devalues the hugely important fight for freedom Ai Weiwei has been doing. Perhaps the value of this book is as a small (5x6") coffee table book that can spark conversations more interesting than the average.

The man is amazing though, and I admire his strength and love for his messed up country.

"I will never leave China, unless I am forced to. Because China is mine. I will not leave something that belongs to me in the hands of people I do not trust."

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have great respect for Ai Weiwei, but I agree with other reviewers that presenting his quotes as aphorisms removes too much of their context. As a starting point or taken within the context of Ai Weiwei's work, some are very powerful, but this book feels lacking as a standalone piece.

[Tiff Gibbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good, slim, fast read that gave me a brief overview of the man/myth/legend Ai Weiwei. He’s fun, but of course there’s a fair bit of hubris and ego there - I suppose to be expected after the iconoclastic life he’s led. There is no doubt he’s suffered terribly for his right to speak up, and that is truly admirable. My favourite Weiwei-isms were:

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)

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

Everything is art. Everything is politics. (35)

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

The internet is uncontrollable. And if the internet is uncontrollable, freedom will win. It’s as simple as that. (17)

Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources. (68)

The world is a sphere, there is no east or west. (69)

[Siel Ju · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Everything is art. Everything is politics.” Weiwei-isms is a collection of snippets of Ai’s words, pulled together in bits and pieces from interviews, blog posts, and other writings. This prominent Chinese artist has been very vocal in his calls for freedom for the Chinese people — and has been punished for it, detained by Chinese authorities for 81 days. For Ai, art and politics are inexorably interlinked, as this little book underscores. But what I love about Ai’s art is that for the casual viewer, the works can seem completely detached from politics — yet mesmerizing and fascinating all the same. What does one make of a room filled with millions of painstakingly crafted porcelain sunflower seeds? Don’t you want to immediately jump into the dune — or try surreptitiously nibbling on one? I enjoyed learning more about Ai and the ethos for his work.

[Christopher Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I deeply respect and appreciate the work of Ai Weiwei, but I'm not sure this book necessarily did him or his struggle justice. The quotes are profound, but presented one after another, I think they lose some of their "sharpness," so to speak, and lack a bit of context. I'd also say that the six sub-categories are largely arbitrary. It may have been interesting to assign quotes in relation to his art, as opposed to quotes just in relation to the nature of thinking itself.

[Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Si Weiwei es uno de los artistas contemporáneos más destacados, leer este libro de citas con sus reflexiones ha sido una bocanada de aire fresco y una llamada de atención.
Aunque muchas de sus reflexiones giran en torno a la situación del artista en China no dejan de ser palabras globales.
Lectura muy recomendable.

[Evie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Becomes repetitive, but, useful for becoming acquainted with his art and philosophy. You will need to have an understanding of his historical and cultural context for many of these quotes to have their full impact, though.

[Luis Francisco Palacios Martínez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Breves y directas son las anotaciones que recoge este pequeño libro de Ai-Weiwei, uno de los artistas plásticos más conocidos de China, quien a través de su blog dio a conocer su punto de vista del régimen chino actual y que bien le valió ochenta y un días de cárcel, toda su opinión se sintetiza en estos pensamientos que asientan la crítica social del oriental.

[Jalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seems like a Cool Guy

[Luke Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

We live in a time when things have taken a noticeable turn for the longer and shorter at the same time. In the explosion of blogging and numerous other forms of online publication, people have greater access than ever before to make their voices heard and at great length. Yet, at the same time, outlets like Facebook and Twitter especially, direct their users to hone their message down, purify it to the most crystallized form before sending it out to the world. Sometimes this makes for completely inane and paltry statements about someone’s present moment of self-reflection, but there are a few out there who can use this strategy to pinpoint their message into weapons of the wordsmith. Those people are dangerous. Those people can change minds.

Oh, and it helps to be an internationally well-known artist and dissident to boot.

Weiwei-isms by Ai Weiwei is a sorted and well laid out collection of sayings and statements from one of the most publicly attacked and endangered voices in modern day China. In 2008 he was publicly lauded by his home country for the design of the famous Bird’s Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics, yet in the same year became a harshly silenced critic in the aftermath of the deadly Sichuan earthquake. Weiwei created his own citizen’s council that investigated shoddy school building construction which helped lead to the deaths of over five thousand school children in the affected areas.

It was events like that and others that pushed Weiwei further into the world of human rights advocacy and the ongoing withering attacks against the ruling Chinese government. This book becomes not only a collection of his most pertinent political statements, but also of topics like freedom of expression, art and activism, the digital world and more. One of my personal favorites hits right off the bat on page one: “Say what you need to say plainly, and then take responsibility for it.” If only everyone in took that to heart.

Physically Weiwei-isms is a black, small hardbound book, fitting nicely into a jacket pocket and meant to be carried around, perused at chance moments and ruminated on. It knowingly bears a resemblance to the little red books that were given out by Chairman Mao in order to popularize his philosophies to his subjects. Yet, brainwashing is not the dastardly attempt of the author this time; it is more akin to brain-widening. Take a look for yourself. I feel safe in saying that some statement, one of his turns of phrase, will hit you like a punch in the gut, likely leaving an emotional bruise that will take great time and thought to recover from.

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the lovers of Ai Weiwei, Chinese dissident and artist; his words about freedom and individual rights of expression, moral choices, government power and this historical moment and forecast for the future were for me very interesting, because I found him very interesting since I saw one of his pictures exhibition here in Berlin last years.

Per i cultori di Ai Weiwei, dissidente cinese ed artista; le sue parole sulla libertà, il diritto individuale di esprimersi, le scelte morali, il potere del governo e questo attuale momento storico (più alcune previsioni per il futuro) sono state per me illuminanti da quando l'ho scoperto vedendo per caso una sua mostra di fotografie qui a Berlino.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS FOR THE PREVIEW

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je ne me sens pas du tout puissant. Je suis toujours plus ou moins détenu. Vous savez, c'est une sorte de liberté sous caution. Hier encore, alors que j'essayais de m'occuper du bébé, au parc, je me suis rendu compte que j'étais suivi et que ma situation était très fragile. Mais peut-être qu'être puissant c'est être fragile.

Certaines phrases sont très intenses et raisonnent (dans les deux sens) dans la tête.

Seul défaut : nos interprétations de certaines citations pourraient en contredire d'autres puisqu'il n'y a aucun contexte pour expliquer la situation de laquelle on a extrait la citation.

[Am Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of quotes from Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, presented according to topic. I found most of these bite-sized snippets to be meaningful and worth noting down. The funniest is when he talks about how officials told him their "mere" detainment of him was considered "an improvement" over what they could have done to him in the past, during the Cultural Revolution.

P.S. As a fellow Chinese, I would have appreciated that the quotes be presented in Mandarin as well, so as to retain their original flavour.

[Kerfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to review a book of quotations. I think a lot of them will mean more if the reader knows something about Ai Weiwei's life, work, and struggle for freedom in China. But some are universal and need no introduction.

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

"Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught."

"There were so many moments when I felt desperate and hopeless. But still, the next morning, I heard the birds singing."

[Anna L Conti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weiwei-isms could be described as meditations on Art, Life, Freedom and Power. Collected by Larry Warsh and organized into six topical chapters, the words of the artist cut to the essence of his experiences over a lifetime of speaking Truth to Power. (And, as a conceptual artist, this is as much a monograph of his work as book of photos would be.) It's an inspirational addition to my studio library.

[Toffana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book of quotes. Some favorites:

"There were so many moments when I felt desperate and helpless. But still, the next morning, I heard the birds singing."

"Chairman Mao was the first in the world to use Twitter. All his quotations are within 140 words."

"The world is a sphere. There is no East or West."

"Overturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It's probably the only sport I enjoy."

[Documentally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to review a book of quotations. The best thing about it is it introduced me to the mind of Ai Weiwei. Artist, activist, freedom fighter.

"Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught."

[Susu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful quotes from Ai Weiwei - just read and think.

[Zivile · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book showed me that there is no reason to be afraid of China like the world likes to announce. Soon it's communist government will collapse

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Ai Weiwei says is well worth listening to - so eloquent and so humane

[joycesu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The finger pointing to the moon is not the moon.

Similarly, Ai Weiwei's work and thoughts are not this book. However it's really great to pick at to get inspired by his passion.

[Joe Vigil · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small book of quotes from the famous Chinese dissident/artist. If subversive thoughts cultivate in your mind, feed the frenzy with these words from a master observer of the human condition.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will lead to other Weiwei-isms I'm sure.

[Jeannot · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If there is one who’s not free, then I am not free. If there is one who suffers, then I suffer."

[Andrew]

Very worth reading. Sad.

[Isabel]

Respect!