“Freedom is not a gift; it must be wrestled from the hands of banality and the quiet complicity with power.” Ai Wei Wei

Ai Weiwei, "Study of Perspective - Reichstag, Berlin" (1999) (image courtesy Ai Weiwei Studio)

“Works that evade reality, that shy away from argument, from controversy, from debate — be they text, painting, or performance — are worthless. And strangely, it is this worthless work that society most readily celebrates.

I understand now: People crave power and tyranny as they crave sunshine and rain, for the burden of self-awareness feels like pain. At times, even like catastrophe.

Under most circumstances, society selects the most selfish, least idealistic among us to take on the work we call “art” because that choice makes everyone feel safe.”