Barry McGee

I love graffiti because it enables kids from every social extraction to do something that brings them closer to art, when they…

— Barry McGee

If I could get the respect of 14-year-olds, I'm happy. They're the toughest audience.

— Barry McGee

I like the idea that you can paint something outdoors, and anyone can see it. It's open to anyone, and people have…

— Barry McGee

Some of my favorite pieces are from thrift shops. When I find something I really love, I live, work and sleep in…

— Barry McGee

That's immediately how I gauge how healthy a city is-by the amount of tags. It's just in direct competition with advertising. It's…

— Barry McGee

Street artists need to get back to actually doing things on the streets instead of in the galleries where they all seem…

— Barry McGee

The parts of graffiti I like are really antagonizing still - it's not something that a museum would really embrace.

— Barry McGee

I just try to get away with as much as I can. I don't think that's very radical in the art world.

— Barry McGee

I want to do just, like, regular art. Whatever is made today on canvas goes up against all of art history. Its…

— Barry McGee

I read in a weird way. It comes in waves, and then I start, like, five different books at once. It takes…

— Barry McGee

As soon as I start reading, drawing comes to me more easily. I find I work in my sketchbooks more. But if…

— Barry McGee

I have tons of art books. I have them all over the place. They are in my car, in my bag, and…

— Barry McGee

Most inspiration still comes from bicycling around San Francisco. This city never fails to inspire me. It is one of the most…

— Barry McGee

I see a really good tag on a building, a man passed out in the middle of the street, a couple hugging,…

— Barry McGee

For me, graffiti means making marks on surfaces using just about anything, be it markers, spray, paint, chalk, lipstick, varnish, ink. Or…

— Barry McGee

I'm really into California art from the '60s.

— Barry McGee

My artwork gets stolen all the time; it's ridiculous.

— Barry McGee

Work done illegally outdoors or without permission feels like pure freedom to me. I understand how it can upset many in our…

— Barry McGee

Some people are enraged, and some people are applauding. If there were a mission statement for graffiti, that would be it.

— Barry McGee

I love biographies. I read Patti Smith's 'Just Kids.' I'm into that time frame in New York, the '70s and '80s. In…

— Barry McGee

Drawings, paintings, and sculptures. That's the three pillars of art academia.

— Barry McGee

It's very intense to go back to the past and revive work that I've already experienced and moved forward from. It's like…

— Barry McGee

I'm really into California art from the '60s. I like a lot of Bay Area artists, like Nathan Oliveira and Bruce Conner.

— Barry McGee

Galleries are easier to steal from than the Apple Store, maybe.

— Barry McGee

I wasn't trying to turn graffiti into an art form. I just wanted to learn about art. I wanted to learn this…

— Barry McGee