The most important thing about intellectual property vs. creative expression is that copyright law was created not to stifle creativity but to encourage creativity.
I want to be proud of this country, but when aspects of our policy don't align with my ethics, I want to protest them and try to change them.
I've never really considered myself just a street artist. I consider myself a populist.
Street art, of course, is political, because it's illegal, so the very act of doing it is an act of defiance.
I think that art has the ability to capture people's imaginations and make them think that more is possible.
My idea about the role of artists is to get people to look at things in a way that's different than the way they normally would if they are being told how to think, what to do. I think when people receive information through art, they are more open-minded.
I'm not going to be intimidated by people or identity politics. I think that's a dead end.
The way I make art - the way a lot of people make art - is as an extension of language and communication, where references are incredibly important.
Tim Armstrong is a good friend.
When you walk down the street and see something in a crazy spot, there's something powerful about that. The street will always be an important part of getting art out there for me.
People romanticize struggle and obscurity, and I get that, but it's a very one-dimensional argument to say that people who have money are evil, and artists who are poor are virtuous.
I hoped that Obama would be a delivery vehicle for change on issues I care about, but I never expect one politician to be the solution to the diverse array of issues I care about.
If you're creating something that has some sort of cultural currency - if the idea is getting out there - then that will probably yield money in some form, whether it's through selling art or selling books or being asked to give a lecture.
Most campaigns rely on photographs because the moment you do something that is a graphic interpretation where any artistic license has been taken, I think a lot of people are scared that it's going to be perceived as propaganda.
I admire Ai Weiwei for his art and his activism. His art is beautiful in form, and in function embodies the principles of populism and social consciousness I aspire to in my own practice.
When I think about how I want to reach an audience, I just wanted to make pieces that were inspired by something that gave me so much pleasure.
When Justin Bieber started wearing the Obey bar logo, we discontinued it. That was kinda one of the last straws.
Art shows and the institutions end up being the couriers for culture for the next generation and are an important component as well. It may seem ironic from one perspective, but I think if you look at my overall strategy, it's actually not out of step.
I was a huge Operation Ivy fan.
In the case of the Obama poster, I was just exercising my First Amendment rights - and my free speech is exercised visually. People who want to talk or write in order to share an opinion about Obama can do that, but when I want to say what I think about him, I need to make a portrait.
