The subject of a painting is always the author, the artist. You can only make an
illusion that it's about something other than that. I think that's what the function
of representation is: to give a painting the illusion of a subject … I would rather
that my work turn into a cliché than be a kind of artfully dodged, ironic critique.
I'd rather that my work be truly a cliché than a critique of clichés. Ultimately, I
think that what I do is find a cliché and try to believe in it, try to get to where I
don't laugh at it.