--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is a very general understanding of…" description: "\"This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.\" — Ai Weiwei" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png" --- # This is a very general understanding of art in China, that… ![“This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png) > “This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.” [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 is often seen as a path to fame and wealth, but this view overlooks its deeper cultural and personal significance. **In simple terms:** Art seen seen as money and fame, missing deeper meaning. Key Takeaway Seek purpose beyond profit. Themes art culture celebrity economics Mood reflective critical Type observational commentary When to use this quote - gallery openings - artist residencies - media interviews - branding campaigns Key Concepts materialism identity social value Questions to Reflect On - How does commercial success affect creative freedom? - What responsibilities do artists have to society? A Different Perspective Fame can distort artistic integrity and public perception. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-china-1146234/) [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Being an artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-an-artist/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [China Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china-artist-1146233/) [General Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-understanding-1032677/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Make Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-money/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Understanding Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding-art-1146235/) ## Related quotes > [I would say what Mad Men has taught me has been a super elevated evaluation of text in general, and understanding subtext, and understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-feldman/i-would-say-what-mad-men-has-taught-me-has-been-a-super-elevated/) [Ben Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-feldman/) > [When I do research, I cast my net very widely and then snatch what feels right out of that. Occasionally I'll read a specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/when-i-do-research-i-cast-my-net-very-widely-and-then-snatch-what/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [We had a general awareness, for example, of Russian use of social media - Facebook ads, use of Twitter, fake news implants - we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-r-clapper/we-had-a-general-awareness-for-example-of-russian-use-of-social-media/) [James R. Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-r-clapper/) > [Being an artist is more of a mindset, a way of seeing things; it is no longer so much about producing something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/being-an-artist-is-more-of-a-mindset-a-way-of-seeing-things-it-is-no/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It became like a symbolic thing, to be “an artist.” After Duchamp, I realized that being an artist is more about a lifestyle and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-became-like-a-symbolic-thing-to-be-an-artist-after-duchamp-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Buying art is not understanding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/buying-art-is-not-understanding-art/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > ['Understanding' art is like having a sense of humour - if you don't have one, no amount of explanation is going to make you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-craig-martin/understanding-art-is-like-having-a-sense-of-humour-if-you-don-t-have/) [Michael Craig-Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-craig-martin/) > [In my own version of the idea of 'what art wants,' the end and fulfillment of the history of art is the philosophical understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-own-version-of-the-idea-of-what-art-wants-the-end-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“...there is no true understanding of any art without some knowledge of its philosophy. Only then does its meaning come clear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/there-is-no-true-understanding-of-any-art-without-some-knowledge-of/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [By translating their inner turmoil or understanding into art, artists challenge the accepted notions of reality and create new ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-nisker/by-translating-their-inner-turmoil-or-understanding-into-art-artists/) [Wes Nisker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-nisker/) > [The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's humanity and one's knowledge of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/the-understanding-of-art-depends-finally-upon-one-s-willingness-to/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [Art is difficult. It's not entertainment. There are only a few people who can say something about art - it's very restricted. When I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anselm-kiefer/art-is-difficult-it-s-not-entertainment-there-are-only-a-few-people/) [Anselm Kiefer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anselm-kiefer/) > [In our time, we have become too interested in the artist and his or her character and experience as a way of understanding art.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/in-our-time-we-have-become-too-interested-in-the-artist-and-his-or/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Nature alone can lead to the understanding of art, just as art brings us back to nature with greater awarness. It is the source…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-carriere/nature-alone-can-lead-to-the-understanding-of-art-just-as-art-brings/) [Eugene Carriere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-carriere/) > [We don't all dig Shakespeare uniformly, or even 'Little Red Riding Hood.' The understanding of art depends finally upon one's willingness to extend one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/we-don-t-all-dig-shakespeare-uniformly-or-even-little-red-riding-hood/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) ## 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": "This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you into a star.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ai Weiwei" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of-art-in-china-that-being-an/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of-art-in-china-that-being-an/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e4b/ai-weiwei-824_art_this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of_1700567.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is a very general understanding of art in China, that being an artist can make you money and turn you…” — 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": "This is a very general understanding...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of-art-in-china-that-being-an/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-is-a-very-general-understanding-of-art-in-china-that-being-an/#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 } } ] } ```