I don't mess around with my subconscious

Curiosity is the main energy.

And I think that even today, New York still has more of this unexpected quality around every corner than any place else. It's something quite extraordinary

Screwing things up is a virtue. Being correct is never the point. I have an almost fanatically correct assistant, and by the time she re-spells my words and corrects my punctuation, I can't read what I wrote. Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea.

The artist's job is to be a witness to his time in history.

This was my first encounter with art as art (he saw 'Pinky' painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence and 'The Blue Boy" painted by Thomas Gainborough).. ..somebody actually MADE those paintings.. ..(it) was the first time I realized you could be an artist.

There is no reason not to consider the world as one gigantic painting.