“Everything is raw material to me. Land is raw material... I take one f...” — Theaster Gates Quote

Everything is raw material to me. Land is raw material... I take one form and transform it into other forms.

My first experience with the creative was mopping tar. If you let the tar sit, it can get cold pretty quickly. And because the mops are so heavy, you've got to dip it and then ride it really fast.

I want to spend my time between the creation of ideas and the creation of things.

Sometimes the creating that we do is creating a platform that allows other creative people to pitch in.

If we imagine that the only right that we have is to make commodifiable objects, then we limit our practice, and we limit the great potential for an understanding between collectors, curators and galleries.

Voter suppression takes different forms.

Trinidadians love speaking their own English; it's full of poetic forms and can be playful and lyrical and comical. Trinidadians are verbal acrobats, and I love being on the island just to hear the people speak.

What's important is that people realize that I can't be put into a box musically. I've studied all forms of music; I know probably more Jay-Z songs than the biggest Jay-Z fan. I've studied R. Kelly to the Isley Brothers to Stevie Wonder to Sting and Sade. You don't have one personality every day. You don't have one mood.

Whatever your political leaning, vote. This participation is vital. I feel the same way about issues like the space program, education, the military. The more the public focuses on these things, thinks and forms opinions, I think the better we are as a democracy.