Jean-Michel Basquiat

I don't think about art when I'm working. I try to think about life.

I cross out words so you will see them more; the fact that they are obscured makes you want to read them.

I wanted to be a star, not a gallery mascot.

I'm not a real person. I'm a legend.

I use art to make people think.

I don't listen to what art critics say. I don't think about it. I don't read them.

I paint what I see, what I feel, what I know.

I'm not a political artist. I just paint the truth.

I think I have a certain amount of anger in me, and I use that to create.

I'm not a black artist. I'm an artist.

Art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time.

I like to work with different materials, different surfaces.

I don't know how to describe my work. It's not really about anything specific.

I'm not trying to be a role model. I'm just trying to be myself.

I never went to art school. I just painted.

I'm not interested in making pretty pictures. I'm interested in making powerful pictures.

I think about my work as a kind of jazz improvisation.

I like to mix things up, to combine different elements.

I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard worker.

I want to make art that's accessible to everyone.