Mark Bradford Quotes

Comics are just mirrors. People can either laugh at the reflection or be disgusted by it.

I want my pictures to cut through political abstractions... and make a connection on a human level.

I try to get closer to reality, to get close to the contradictions. The cinema world can be a real world rather than a dream world.

If the arts are held up solely as a means of social insight, fantasy is denied the chance to be commonplace and reality the chance to be exotic.

Fashion is not separate from art. It is inextricably woven into how we open ourselves to the world and articulates the exchanges of power both real and imagined.

I'm not a politician; I'm lucky to be a filmmaker and to be able to express myself through the films I make.

I think a lot of Indians want Indian artists to be cultural cheerleaders rather than cultural investigators.

In America, the photographer is not simply the person who records the past, but the one who invents it.

I'm not a politician or a scholar or political historian. I'm just a photographer who's trying to capture a spirit. It's not an intellectual process; it's an intuitive process.

Previously the same Polish audiences would have been pressured into seeing cinema made for adults, films made by us about those spheres of life that were significant for us and which should be significant for our society.

I can't control what people think. I'm not trying to manipulate people's thoughts or sentiments. I write all the time. You have to experience life, make observations, and ask questions. It's machine-like how things are run now in hip-hop, and my ambitions are different.

The fact is I'm not making a film in order to draw pictures or make images about Iran.

Art should walk a tightrope. That's what art should be. Art should be dangerous. You can't be scared to say something with it. People love to talk about how comics are real art and real literature, so why not use these characters to talk about real things, even if it is dangerous?

I've always wanted to do pieces that have an integral sense of realism and aren't just there for titillation.

I'm very into film and strengthening what it means to be a rapper and to be a black dude from Chicago.

As a political artist, I think you have to learn how to create art, no matter what your ideology is.

My films are a reflection of the society I live in, what I see and observe.

I always say that cinema reflects life, not the other way round.

That's what independent filmmaking does: it gives the underdog a voice, a shot.

For me, film is an extremely powerful way of conveying a message to a mainstream audience.

I make films to explore concepts and raise questions, not tell the audience what to think.

I love when you get the feeling of some social reality with a fictional film.

I enjoy films like 'American Beauty' and want to do similar films that reflect our culture.

Cinema has a large scope as it is a mirror of society and with the mindset changing, people are taking it more seriously.

Those of us who work in the arts know that depiction is not endorsement. If it was, no artist would be able to paint inhumane practices, no author could write about them, and no filmmaker could delve into the thorny subjects of our time.