Jean-Michel Basquiat

I'm not trying to be a legend. I'm just trying to make art.

I like to draw on everything, on walls, on paper, on canvas.

I'm not a hero. I'm just a guy with a paintbrush.

I think art should be a mirror.

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

I like to use words in my paintings.

I'm not a prophet. I'm just an artist.

I think art should be a question.

I'm not trying to be a genius. I'm just trying to be creative.

I like to work late at night.

I'm not a god. I'm just a man.

I am not a black artist. I am an artist who is black.

The way I start a painting is very similar to the way I start a piece of music. I just mess around until something takes shape.

Most young black artists are like blues musicians. They are just playing the blues.

The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings.

I like the idea of the artist as a vagabond.

Since I was 17, I thought I might be a professional basketball player, or I might be a painter.

My work is not that serious.

I don't listen to what the critics say. There are so many who can't write.

The world is racist.