Ultimately, the film [Dream of Life] is inspirational.

I took pictures of the objects and artifacts that Patti [Smith] would show to her friends because I wanted to document them.

I didn't do well in high school, but I took photography, and I loved being able to capture moments.

Sometimes my fashion pictures can look a little bit like documentary style pictures. So having a camera in my hand was normal.

I shot [Dream of Life] all on 16-millimeter, and I just wanted to learn about Patti [Smith].

Hopefully I can inspire lots of people to learn about [Patti Smith], to read poetry or learn about William Blake or Arthur Rimbaud.

The editing process was a free-for-all, and since I hadn't gone to film [Dream of Life] school or anything like that, I just said, "We'll do this. We'll do that." It was a really great experience that way.