Jean-Michel Basquiat

It's not white or black, it's gray.

Black people are the most talented people in the world.

I think about racism a lot, but it's very difficult to talk about it.

I want to avoid the obvious. I want to try to surprise myself.

The artist doesn't have to write about politics. The work is political anyway.

I rub the paint into the canvas. It becomes part of the canvas.

History has a lot to hide.

I am a black man who makes art.

The more I paint, the more I realize that painting is a language.

I don't want to be a spokesman for anything.

My mother saved everything. My mother was able to see the talent in me.

I had so many ideas and I wanted to do them all at once.

The white artist is a member of a privileged class.

Painting is a way to keep a diary.

I like to see the world through my own eyes.

The street is the best art school.

Fame is like a drug. You get high on it, but it wears off quick.

I don't know why I paint what I paint.

The canvas is my diary.

Racism is a form of stupidity.