At the end of the day, I'm an artist. I may make work and decide to do something political, but it will come out of an artist's position. It won't come out of society telling me I have to. If I do, it's because I choose, as an artist, to do it.
From Mark Bradford
I've always been inspired by small details that make me wander. My mother would ask me, 'What are you looking at so intensely?' I would answer, 'Everything and nothing.' She really supported my wanderings, called me Marco Polo.
That's how I make work. Along the way, I take notes, I read about history and popular culture. Sometimes I act out things in the studio. I go back to my mother's hair salon so I can hear three voices going all at once. I pull inspiration from everything.
In the city, you're always looking around, observing everything. In some neighborhoods, your life can depend on it. The details change constantly.
About the time I was 7, I got really into black-exploitation films, so I made my own Wonder Woman, but I made her black.
I can go to my own opening, and the security guard will tell me that I have to go to the security entrance.
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