The idea of going on tour for the rest of my life with old works is not that exciting. As an artist I definitely think the work in future is going to be better than the work in the past otherwise why do it?

I've been asked to do a retrospective since I was about 28 and I always thought that was a bit odd. It's great to look forward as an artist because in the future the possibilities are infinite you look back and it's all fixed so it's a scary thing.

I would like to see a future where artists think that they have a right to contemplate things like global warming.

I'm a big fan of certain new acts. I love any genre of music and I think it's really great to see that there are new artists coming through. It's kinda funny to think that I'm like the old man on campus now. But I'm really happy for groups like One Direction. I think they're really good guys.

It's funny growing up there was never anybody around me with any kind of artistic bent.

I don't think of myself as a comedian but as an artist a scientist and chemist who just happens to be funny. I started doing stand-up to add another level to my game. I feel that I'm a young rookie with a veteran's skill.

It's a funny relationship that makeup artists have. I always feel kind of like a dentist. People look at me and think of pain.

A good artist is willing to die many times over. What's funny is I've died so many times.

Working with David Cronenberg or Darren Aronofsky or even Steven Soderbergh isn't really like a typical Hollywood movie. These are true artists and have a certain amount of freedom when they work and they're more like independent filmmakers making their way through big studios.

That freedom that Picasso afforded himself to be an artist in a huge number of ways seems to be a huge psychological liberation.

As one gets older one sees many more paths that could be taken. Artists sense within their own work that kind of swelling of possibilities which may seem a freedom or a confusion.

I don't think that artists of any kind would or could sacrifice their artistic freedom by being more responsible with their influence on people especially young people.

No my work does not reflect my sexual preferences it reflects the fact that I feel total freedom as an artist.

I was interested by the idea that artists working in a totalitarian dictatorship or tsarist autocracy are secretly and slightly shamefully envied by artists who work in freedom. They have the gratification of intense interest: the authorities want to put them in jail while there are younger readers for whom what they write is pure oxygen.

All artists are people of growth. It's like food you take the good and leave the rest.

The kitchen's a laboratory and everything that happens there has to do with science. It's biology chemistry physics. Yes there's history. Yes there's artistry. Yes to all of that. But what happened there what actually happens to the food is all science.

I do a one-hour workout called Drenched a cardio-boxing fitness routine Monday through Friday. There are usually between twenty-five and fifty people there - everyone from stay-at-home moms and professional martial artists to teenagers and seniors. They play great dance music. When I can I take two classes back-to-back.

I think that the problem is that people fear so many things and they don't live life to its fullest. And for me as an artist if God should want me to come this Wednesday to the end of my life so be it.

One of the most gratifying things I get as an artist is when people watch me do these different demonstrations and they in some way feel empowered by what I'm doing so they can confront their own fears. Maybe it's the fear of getting in an elevator maybe it's the fear of going on a plane and seeing the world.

I do support artists standing by their beliefs and walking with integrity. We have to find a better way to commercially exploit music while giving artists their proper respect. This cannot be done while taking their contributions for granted or trying to control the scope of their growth and power through threats and fear tactics.

I've noticed a lot of younger artists have less fear of doing different sorts of things whether it's various types of music or gallery artists moving between video and sculpture and drawing.

It wasn't not being famous any more or even not being a recording artist. It was having nobody who needed me no phones ringing nothing to do. Because I'm still too young to do nothing. I was only 24 when all that happened. Now at 40 I feel I've got more to give than I ever have.

Of course Hollywood is still making some excellent pictures which reflect the great artistry that made Hollywood famous throughout the world but these films are exceptions judging from box office returns and press reviews.

When I came to New York I began to meet the people who became the most famous artists of our time. I was insecure about my own level of ability I didn't know whether I could compete with these people and at the same time. I was wondering what is this anyway?