--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My definition of art has always been the…" description: "\"My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression […] I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intentio..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/ai-weiwei-824_art_my-definition-of-art-has-always-been-the_1900659.png" --- # My definition of art has always been the same. It is about… ![“My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression […] I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate [the two] is itself a very political intention.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/ai-weiwei-824_art_my-definition-of-art-has-always-been-the_1900659.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/ai-weiwei-824_art_my-definition-of-art-has-always-been-the_1900659.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f07/ai-weiwei-824_art_my-definition-of-art-has-always-been-the_1900659.png) > “My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression \[…\] I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate \[the two\] is itself a very political intention.” [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. Art and politics are inseparable; attempting to separate them is itself a political act. **In simple terms:** Art cannot be separated from politics. Key Takeaway Acknowledge politics in artistic expression. Themes art politics freedom of expression activism Mood critical engaged Type political inspirational When to use this quote - public installations - policy advocacy - media interviews - educational programs Key Concepts censorship social commentary creative responsibility Questions to Reflect On - How does your work reflect political realities? - Can art influence political change? A Different Perspective Political art may face censorship or backlash. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-freedom-753338/) [Art Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-politics-583308/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-expression/) [Freedom of expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-expression/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Separate Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-art-804550/) [Separate Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separate-political-1582333/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) ## Related quotes > [My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/my-definition-of-art-has-always-been-the-same-it-is-about-freedom-of-2/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/my-definition-of-art-has-always-been-the-same-it-is-about-freedom-of-3/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Art is about freedom of expression, and should not be molded to fit any propaganda or lofty ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/art-is-about-freedom-of-expression-and-should-not-be-molded-to-fit/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [China didn't want to lose the cutting edge of technology. So the idea of having a Sina Weibo was an attempt to compete with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-didn-t-want-to-lose-the-cutting-edge-of-technology-so-the-idea/) [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/) > [Freedom of expression is a very essential condition for me to make any art. Also, it is an essential value for my life. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/freedom-of-expression-is-a-very-essential-condition-for-me-to-make/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think it’s a responsibility for any artist to protect freedom of expression and to use any way to extend this power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-it-s-a-responsibility-for-any-artist-to-protect-freedom-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [We should also leave behind discrimination, because it is narrow-minded and ignorant, denies contact and warmth; and corrodes mankind's belief that we can better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/we-should-also-leave-behind-discrimination-because-it-is-narrow/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. 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So that is my selfish reason - to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-felt-we-must-separate-political-responsibility-the-dalai-lama/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“It has become conventional wisdom that America suffers from an unbridgeable gap between red and blue states, two separate political cultures that can agree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamilton-nolan/it-has-become-conventional-wisdom-that-america-suffers-from-an/) [Hamilton Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamilton-nolan/) > [But artistically, my art I kept very separate from my political beliefs, deliberately and very, very rarely would I allow that kind of thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/but-artistically-my-art-i-kept-very-separate-from-my-political/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [I disagree with the analysis that you've put about what happened in relation to the student demonstrations and protests and the incident with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/i-disagree-with-the-analysis-that-you-ve-put-about-what-happened-in/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [Everything is art. Everything is politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/everything-is-art-everything-is-politics/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## 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 Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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