Jean-Michel Basquiat

The black person is the protagonist in most of my paintings. I realized that I didn't see many paintings with black people in them.

I was a really lousy artist as a kid. Too abstract expressionist; or I'd draw a big ram's head, really messy. I'd never win painting contests. I remember losing to a guy who did a perfect Spiderman.

I want to make paintings that look as if they were made by a child.

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.

I had this wild imagination. I was never me. All my childhood photos, I'm in fancy dress, playing a Russian refuge or Marvelous Mad Madam Mim.

Well, I actually wrote her a letter a couple of days ago congratulating her. The tone I tried to convey in the letter is, look, you are a part of a great American historical process.