The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind.

Typically, the performance has a story - a beginning, the crescendo and the end.

Most people are more comfortable with what is familiar. I’ve spent my life doing the opposite.

I am not a therapist. I am not a spiritual leader. These elements are in the art: it is therapeutic, spiritual, social and political - everything. It has many layers. But art has to have many layers. If it doesn't, then forget it.

The function of the artist in a disturbed society is to give awareness of the universe, to ask the right questions, and to elevate the mind.

Television is completely another medium. For me, Lady Gaga and HBO are bringing us to mass culture.

I serve like a bridge. I go to other cultures, learn, put myself in different situations and learn as much as I can, and then go to Western cultures to give. I'm doing this bridging all the time.