Ding Yi

DY: I do not think this should be a kind of power at all. 10 years ago, some of my friends suddenly became Buddhists. I felt awkward whenever I dined out with them, as it seemed that they possess a certain power once they became Buddhists, like they would asked to go check out the kitchen, and no meat or scallions were allowed in the dishes. I think turning one’s personal beliefs into a kind of privilege and start interfering in other people’s lives is problematic. Artists today do the same thing.

Gu Wenda

GW: I don’t believe that an artist is very powerful and I don’t wish to see an artist have infinitely extendable power. An artist is a part of the society, but not an important part of it.

Gong Yan

GY: Well, I think to a certain degree, artists do have enormous power. We can find cases where some artworks – a painting, a sculpture or a film — changed the thinking of a whole generation. I think everyone craves for power, be it great or small. But how much power you have is based on your own ability. The more capable you are, the more powerful you become.

Huang Yuanqing

HY: I think the most interesting part about art is the communication element in it. Communication is a need, just like the communication between a Chinese and a foreigner, a human being and an animal. This is most important. The problem is that some artists think that just because other people do not understand their work, they have more power. This is what I do not like. I like to dissolve this power through communication. But I do feel that modern art has a lot of power. It is not the artists’ power, but that of the curator and the critic.

Lu Chunsheng

LC: Everyone wants to be powerful.
LC: The best wish I can have is that no one has power at all. I want to see that no one is extremely powerful, and everyone is equal. But real life is definitely not like this.
LC: The best condition could be that artists have the same power as our government officials, such as the mayor. That’s immense power, ha ha. But I think everyone, not just the artists, should be given such power.

Liu Jianhua

LJ: Well, I think this power is different from the ones owned by politicians or someone holding power. If you look at it on a macro level, an artist’s power is nothing actually, right? I think politicians are the ones who are really powerful. But an artist’s power is nothing and can do nothing. Lots of artists engage in art just because they feel a certain social responsibility or they have their own understanding of the art. Some masters use their own artistic contributions to influence other people’s judgment on society. I think it is a kind of soft power. But from a micro perspective, the power is really nothing. The artist does not have any power. The power within the artists’ community is actually not meaningful.

Luo Yongjin

LY: An artist should not have a lot of power, except he has 100% power over his own work. I think it is enough for the artist to care about his own work.

Liang Yue

LY: What is the power that you are referring to? I think artists are the disadvantaged group who can only express in an invisible, intangible, spiritual way. I just want there to be more freedom and the right to voice.

Qiu Anxiong

QA: Artists are not powerful. Artists are the least powerful people. Of course to society, artists are very… especially with regard to contemporary art in China. If we say power is like a pie, then artists only have a tiny piece.
QA: I think the situation is already very good right now, as long as we do not say anything against the Communist Party. In fact it is meaningless to say this kind of thing now. There is no need for us to care about this kind of issues.

Song Tao

ST: What kind of power? What power is social power? We cannot put the rights of US citizens and those of Chinese citizens together to have a discussion. It’s impossible.

Tang Maohong

TM: Of course. I want to have a lot of power. But whether the artists are powerful or not depend on who they are. Some are… these people have a lot of resources in their hands.
DQ: As an artist, what kind of power do you want to have?
TM: To me… but he… this situation will be perfect for me.

Wang Nanming

WN: The rights of an artist are freedom of expression, but in the current circumstances this is too difficult. The protection offered to artists is often neglected in our society. This has to do with the legal environment of our government. Our law does not give sufficient protection to our citizens, let alone artists. Artists are still the weaker minority.

Wang Tiande

WT: Artists cannot become the mafia these days. If an artist is good in a certain work, it does not mean he will be good again in later works. If an artist is good these five years, it does not mean he will be good in the next five years. So you do not have power.

Wang Xingwei

WX: The power lies in the painting process. It is my territory and I have the final word. It is up to me to decide what I want to do.

Xu Longbao

XL: I don’t want to have power. And I also think artists do not have much power and they do not need power. Artists only need to create good art.
Artworks are the artist’s interpretation of art, and everyone has a different interpretation. If you are just in the process of interpreting something, why do you need authority? Why do you need power? Do you want to rule over others, turn others into your slaves?

Xiang Liqing

XL: I hope so. I hope I will be able to speak more freely, to express with more freedom

Yang Fudong

YF: It’s awful for anyone to desire too much power.
YF: It is just like Liu Shaoqi and Wang Guangmei. History is written by the people. You may be powerful now, but whether you will stay powerful in the future is an unknown. I do not care about power at all.

Zhang Enli

ZE: They have a common characteristic, self-humiliation. And the better the artist is, the more severe his self-humiliation.

Zhang Ding

ZD: I hope the power will enable to have convenience when I work. There are some things which are beyond the reach of the artist. I am talking about social relations. You can solve many problems with these social relations.

Zhu Julan

ZJ: I think the artist is perhaps the most powerless person in real life. He can do nothing at all. He cannot be a politician, and probably cannot be a businessman; he cannot make money or whatever. However, in his art world, he is the most powerful man because he can do everything. He is like God; he can create anything.

Zhang Peicheng

ZP: Power? The artist should be someone who has power, but his power lies in his art works. I can do whatever I want when painting. This is my power. I am the God when I am painting. I am creating. I can paint the face green or red. It’s up to me.