--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The purpose of art is the fight for…" description: "\"The purpose of art is the fight for freedom,\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png" --- # The purpose of art is the fight for freedom, ![“The purpose of art is the fight for freedom,” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png) > “The purpose of art is the fight for freedom,” [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 serves as a vehicle for challenging oppression and advocating liberty. **In simple terms:** Art fights for freedom. Key Takeaway Use art to promote liberty. Themes freedom activism art politics Mood provocative inspirational Type political philosophical When to use this quote - public protests - gallery exhibitions - social media campaigns Key Concepts social justice expression resistance Questions to Reflect On - Can art truly change political systems? - What responsibilities do artists have? A Different Perspective Art may be censored or ignored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Fight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-fight-347153/) [Art is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-is/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Fight Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fight-freedom/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Fighting for freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-for-freedom/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-art/) [Purpose of art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-of-art/) ## Related quotes > [To me the purpose of art is to produce something alive...but with a separate, and of course one hopes, with an everlasting life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-green/to-me-the-purpose-of-art-is-to-produce-something-alive-but-with-a/) [Henry Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-green/) > [The purpose of art is to re-present nature, not represent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-re-present-nature-not-represent-it/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [I have a very, very good relationship with 10 percent of the audience. The only purpose of art is intimacy. That's the only point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/i-have-a-very-very-good-relationship-with-10-percent-of-the-audience/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [The purpose of art actually is, in many cases, to make you feel quite uncomfortable. Or at least to go to that place that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-moore/the-purpose-of-art-actually-is-in-many-cases-to-make-you-feel-quite/) [Michael Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-moore/) > [“it is widely believed that the purpose of art is to challenge, to question, to transgress, never to celebrate, to harmonise, to console, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dalrymple/it-is-widely-believed-that-the-purpose-of-art-is-to-challenge-to/) [Theodore Dalrymple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dalrymple/) > [“I believe that the justification of art is the internal combustion it ignites in the hearts of men and not its shallow, externalized, public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-gould/i-believe-that-the-justification-of-art-is-the-internal-combustion-it/) [Glenn Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-gould/) > [“The purpose of art is to elevate the spirit or to pay a surgeon’s bill. Or both. It can help a person remember or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-elevate-the-spirit-or-to-pay-a-surgeon-s/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [And really the purpose of art - for me, fiction - is to alert, to indicate to stop, to say: Make certain that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerzy-kosi-ski/and-really-the-purpose-of-art-for-me-fiction-is-to-alert-to-indicate/) [Jerzy Kosinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerzy-kosi-ski/) > [In the evolution of knowledge-mistaken and unnecessary beliefs are forced out and supplanted by truer and more necessary knowledge. So too in the evolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/in-the-evolution-of-knowledge-mistaken-and-unnecessary-beliefs-are/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The purpose of art is to stop time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-purpose-of-art-is-to-stop-time/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The purpose of art is the lifelong construction of a state of wonder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-gould/the-purpose-of-art-is-the-lifelong-construction-of-a-state-of-wonder/) [Glenn Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-gould/) > [When you're an artist, you're working, literally, for the sole purpose of art, and when people discredit you, it's probably the most disrespectful thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kali-uchis/when-you-re-an-artist-you-re-working-literally-for-the-sole-purpose/) [Kali Uchis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kali-uchis/) > [“My theory is that the purpose of art is to transmit universal truths of a sort, but of a particular sort, that in art,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walker-percy/my-theory-is-that-the-purpose-of-art-is-to-transmit-universal-truths/) [Walker Percy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walker-percy/) > [I don't really believe in political art. I feel in my heart the purpose of art transcends cultural and class and politics. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-lennon/i-don-t-really-believe-in-political-art-i-feel-in-my-heart-the/) [Sean Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-lennon/) > [“The daily routine of most adults is so heavy and artificial that we are closed off to much of the world. We have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-daily-routine-of-most-adults-is-so-heavy-and-artificial-that-we/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) ## 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. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The purpose of art is the fight for freedom,", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ai Weiwei" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-freedom/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-freedom/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a39/ai-weiwei-824_art_the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-free_2436531.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The purpose of art is the fight for freedom,” — Ai Weiwei", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ai Weiwei", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The purpose of art is the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-freedom/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/the-purpose-of-art-is-the-fight-for-freedom/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```