I See Myself First And Foremost As

Art Simply Can’t Be Stopped.

They Say That Art Should Stand The Test Of Time. Life Lasts A Limited Amount Of Time. Mountains And Trees And Earth Will Outlive Human Beings, But We Don't Know If They Will Be Here Always. Art Does Outlast The Life Span Of Its Maker. Art Should Communicate To An Increasing Circle Of Strangers-people Who Do Not Know The Artist, But Come To Know The Work, And Through The Work, Come To Know Something About The Humanity Of The Artist That Rings With Their Own Humanity.

Some People Study A Text Very Deeply. The People Are My Text. I Study Their Words And What Their Words Sound Like, Over And Over Again. When I Was A Kid, My Grandfather Said That "if You Say A Word Often Enough, It Becomes You." Thinking Of That Later In Life Gave Me This Idea That I Could Try To Become America By Learning The Words Of People From Many Aspects Of The Country. It Doesn't Matter How Educated They Are. By Living In The World And Living Their Experiences, They Bring Extraordinary Truths. I Try To Do Those Truths Justice.

We Who Are In The Arts Are At The Risk Of Being In A Popularity Contest Rather Than A Profession. If That Fact Causes You Despair . . . Pick Another Profession. Your Desire To Communicate Must Be Bigger Than Your Relationship With The Chaotic And Unfair Realities . . . We Have To Create Our Own Standards Of Discipline.

You Know If We Were To Look Back And How We Were In 1955 Living In Jim Crow, Living In Segregation, Living In Segregated Schools, It's Hard To Believe That It Was America, But It Really Was.