I moved to New York in the 1970s and started writing when I was at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program.

Drama often obscures the real issues

The greatest disappointment is when you let yourself down.

I wanted to be an abstract painter, but I was rotten at it.

The desperate things seem to require attention, the lovely things seem to elicit celebration. If I had to choose, I would go to the awful in the hope that doing something could yield a happier result.

That's the test of street art – to see if anybody stopped. People would cross out ones they didn't like and would star others. I liked that people would engage with them.

Expressing anger is necessary.