Life is one long decay, no? There's a lot of beauty in it. Like the patina in an old city.

I think when tattoos are new and colorful, they look bad. But they look better the older and more bleached out they become.

Take a relief. You draw it, you carve it out. Later you build it up from a flat surface. There is no other way to do a sculpture - you either add or you subtract.

Did you find any artists complaining who don't already complain all day long about everything? No. But have you ever met a dealer who thought it was okay? Well, you maybe. It's still the art world. It's meant to be extreme. It's supposed to stand for liberty or whatever but really it's an extremely conservative environment. Why does everyone wear jeans? Because it's practical. To say something is taboo-breaking is to assume you have a clear image of the quality of a dealer. But there are certain dealers who always work this way.

I could see the works just living in reproductions. The work lives on like fantasy. Some live even better as just an image.

Maybe an artist's position in society is different today because it's more individualistic. You're not a direct servant anymore to the patron-you're an indirect servant, or a servant with a choice, or maybe you could not even serve. It's the way you make something. You draw it, you carve it out. Later you build it up from a flat surface. There is no other way to do a sculpture - you either add or you subtract. If you don't enjoy making work, then it's bad... artwork is brutal for so many people... I like the idea of an artist as sombody who works.

Many artists who don't go off to art school come to New York. It's about what you learn when you're here.