Traditionally, photography is supposed to capture an event that has passed; but that is not what I'm looking for. Photography brings the past into the present when you look at it...

I think, basically, I'm an abstract artist. I just think that that's not even an issue. I think everything's abstract.

Making a painting is like playing the saxophone. You hit the note and it comes out.

I don't like building, I'm not a carpenter, I don't like constructions particularly and things like that, but placements and the kinds of psychological weight that different materials have is pretty interesting to me.

I've never made a movie to make money. I've never made a painting to make money.

I like when people get really close to the paintings, when they can't really get away from them, I like them to operate in that way on the viewer.

When I made my first film, Basquiat, I think one of the criticisms was that the way I work is episodic. Later, as people started to look at the movies, they started to realize that maybe that's my style. If I could do it better or another way, I guess I would.