--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even though everybody who looked at me…" description: "\"Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that's the 1980s. New York in the '80s was not so interesting. I think it's quit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/ai-weiwei-824_80s_even-though-everybody-who-looked-at-me-w_1048642.png" --- # Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a… ![“Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that's the 1980s. New York in the '80s was not so interesting. I think it's quite narrow-minded. There wasn't much encouragement or opportunities for any artist - not just Chinese artists.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/ai-weiwei-824_80s_even-though-everybody-who-looked-at-me-w_1048642.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/ai-weiwei-824_80s_even-though-everybody-who-looked-at-me-w_1048642.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/ai-weiwei-824_80s_even-though-everybody-who-looked-at-me-w_1048642.png) > “Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that's the 1980s. New York in the '80s was not so interesting. I think it's quite narrow-minded. There wasn't much encouragement or opportunities for any artist - not just Chinese artists.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The 1980s New York art world was narrow, limiting opportunities for all artists, not just Chinese ones **In simple terms:** Narrow art scenes limit opportunities for diverse artists Key Takeaway Seek inclusive platforms beyond mainstream scenes Themes art culture inclusion Mood critical hopeful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - gallery exhibitions - artist residencies - cross‑cultural projects - community art programs Key Concepts systemic bias art market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can artists create their own opportunities? - What role can institutions play in widening inclusion? A Different Perspective Changing market trends may open doors, but systemic bias persists ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Chinese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese/) [Chinese art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chinese-art/) [Encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) [Narrow minded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrow-minded/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I remain a fan of my friend Bret Easton Ellis's 'American Psycho.' I think as a book about New York in the '80s it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-remain-a-fan-of-my-friend-bret-easton-ellis-s-american-psycho-i/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [The restaurant industry in New York in the '80s was a good place to hide out if you had issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-restaurant-industry-in-new-york-in-the-80s-was-a-good-place-to/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [To call yourself a Chinese artist or woman artist or African artist reflects a certain kind of condition. To me, that is not necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/to-call-yourself-a-chinese-artist-or-woman-artist-or-african-artist/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Because Chinese art is booming, it legitimizes this profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/because-chinese-art-is-booming-it-legitimizes-this-profession/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [So-called Chinese art and culture is under control of the Party. They exist to serve the official agenda. I call it fake art and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/so-called-chinese-art-and-culture-is-under-control-of-the-party-they/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [The Chinese art world does not exist. In a society that restricts individual freedoms and violates human rights, anything that calls itself creative or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-chinese-art-world-does-not-exist-in-a-society-that-restricts/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [All the rich people collect traditional Chinese art. So it's very natural for Chinese families to still see art as the highest human performance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/all-the-rich-people-collect-traditional-chinese-art-so-it-s-very/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I lived there \[ in New York City\] as an artist, but never as a Chinese artist. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-lived-there-in-new-york-city-as-an-artist-but-never-as-a-chinese/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60 years, anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/widespread-state-control-over-art-and-culture-has-left-no-room-for/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I don't like the idea of nationalism, but on the other hand, I do see that there is a difference between British art, German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/i-don-t-like-the-idea-of-nationalism-but-on-the-other-hand-i-do-see/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [In the early 1990s we witnessed the emergence of a revitalized contemporary Chinese art world that began as a reaction against the government-approved Social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/in-the-early-1990s-we-witnessed-the-emergence-of-a-revitalized/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) > [I'm getting more and more into Chinese art and Japanese, some of those scroll paintings are amazing. You follow the change of the seasons.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-m-getting-more-and-more-into-chinese-art-and-japanese-some-of-those/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [Traditional Chinese art looked at the Earth from a Confucian mountain top; Japanese art looked closely around screens; Italian Renaissance art surveyed conquered nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/traditional-chinese-art-looked-at-the-earth-from-a-confucian-mountain/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Some prescient American collectors, including Vicki and Kent Logan and Mera and Donald Rubell, began collecting Chinese art before 2000 with a genuine passion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arne-glimcher/some-prescient-american-collectors-including-vicki-and-kent-logan-and/) [Arne Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arne-glimcher/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-doesn-t-matter-where-i-am-china-will-stay-in-me-i-don-t-know-how/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. Individual freedom takes us beyond them all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/our-lives-are-bound-by-physical-limits-familial-ties-political/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Now I've come to such a mixed culture: America, Europe, South America, Africa. And the politics are changing everywhere all the time and becoming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/now-i-ve-come-to-such-a-mixed-culture-america-europe-south-america/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More 80s quotes > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [As an actor I kind of do. I started out doing voice overs in the mid 80s when I was in grad school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-haden-church/as-an-actor-i-kind-of-do-i-started-out-doing-voice-overs-in-the-mid/) [Thomas Haden Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-haden-church/) > [It's nice to have been around long enough to be a part of people's lives. A lot of people who come to my show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheena-easton/it-s-nice-to-have-been-around-long-enough-to-be-a-part-of-people-s/) [Sheena Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheena-easton/) > [ It was a very economically depressed time \[the 80s\] and because of that, there was a lot of space. Everything was relatively dilapidated, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/it-was-a-very-economically-depressed-time-the-80s-and-because-of-that/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [If for no other reason than it's just fun to watch people age, and it's fun to watch what happened to '80s hairdos and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-borstein/if-for-no-other-reason-than-it-s-just-fun-to-watch-people-age-and-it/) [Alex Borstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-borstein/) > [I don't dislike rappers or hip-hop or people who like it. I went to the Def Jam tour in Manchester in the '80s when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-don-t-dislike-rappers-or-hip-hop-or-people-who-like-it-i-went-to/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [Since I was gay and loved disco music, it was kinda pre-programmed that my first experiences with house music and acid - which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justus-kohncke/since-i-was-gay-and-loved-disco-music-it-was-kinda-pre-programmed/) Justus Kohncke > [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [When I was coming up in the '80s television, if you were on television that meant either you were a young actor just coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bob-thornton/when-i-was-coming-up-in-the-80s-television-if-you-were-on-television/) [Billy Bob Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bob-thornton/) > [My fashion was not the best in the '80s. I looked crazy as hell. I used to wear my pants tucked into my socks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-cole/my-fashion-was-not-the-best-in-the-80s-i-looked-crazy-as-hell-i-used/) [Deon Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-cole/) > [Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-cook/bin-laden-was-though-a-product-of-a-monumental-miscalculation-by/) [Robin Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-cook/) > [When someone asks if you're a god, you say YES!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/when-someone-asks-if-you-re-a-god-you-say-yes/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [His (Lloyd Kaufman) string of low-budget, lowbrow horror comedies stretching back to the ’80s has been cited as influence by Peter Jackson, the Farrelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-lumenick/his-lloyd-kaufman-string-of-low-budget-lowbrow-horror-comedies/) Lou Lumenick > [I have this obsession with the '80s because I missed all of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/i-have-this-obsession-with-the-80s-because-i-missed-all-of-it/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [It was the case in the 70s and 80s that people believed music could change the world. But now people aren't making music because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/it-was-the-case-in-the-70s-and-80s-that-people-believed-music-could/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) Browse all 488 80s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that's the 1980s. New York in the '80s was not so interesting. I think it's quite narrow-minded. 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