“All my work, really, is based on my brothers and sisters. I had so many adventures with them and a big part of the work is to recreate those. It's easy for me to be around a lot of people, because I can retreat. I can watch everything.” PeopleI CanBigsEasyWatchesAdventureBrotherMy BrotherRetreatBrothers And SistersBecause I Can Author:Ryan McGinley
“I can work with shyness, but for the most part I want people to feel comfortable with me. It's really more about the photographer feeing comfortable right when they walk in that makes the subject feel comfortable.” PeopleWantFeelsI CanWalksSubjectsComfortablePhotographerShyness Author:Ryan McGinley
“I don't want to be an artist that gets stuck doing one thing. I don't want to be an artist who people look back at and say, 'His early work was really great.” PeopleWantLooksArtistOne ThingStuckReally GreatEarly Work Author:Ryan McGinley
“I slowly began making a few photos with animals over the years, and I liked how people reacted to them. When I would have the animals on set, I'd notice the way the models would interact with them and there was so much true emotion that you rarely see between two human beings.” PeopleWayYearsHumansTwoHuman BeingsAnimalEmotionModelsTrue Emotions Author:Ryan McGinley
“I think that's an important lesson for young people who want to be artists: You have to find someone who believes in you and who will help you find that time where you don't have to think about a job but just making work. If I didn't have those people in my life, I wouldn't be in the position I'm in.” PeopleIfsThinkingWantBelieveImportantHelpingJobsYoungArtistPositionLessonsBelieve In YouImportant Lessons Author:Ryan McGinley
“Just having the camera, being able to pull back from situations and be an observer, it saved my life... I realised I could find these intimate moments and that people trusted me. That, basically, my camera was magic.” PeopleMomentsAbleSituationMagicCamerasSavedIntimateTrustedObserversRealisedIntimate Moments Author:Ryan McGinley
“My mom had seven kids in seven years, and then she had me 11 years later. So when I was born, my oldest brother was 18. And my youngest brother was 11. By the time I was 7 or 8, everyone had moved out. I went from being with ten people all the time to being an only child. It really freaked me out.” PeopleYearsChildrenKidsBornBrotherMomTenMovedSevenMy MomSeven YearsOnly Child Author:Ryan McGinley
“A lot of people, even my parents, thought, "Art school, I don't know. We'll support you but the success rate for artists is really slim."” PeopleKnowsArtSchoolArtistParentSupportRateArt SchoolSlimSupport You Author:Ryan McGinley
“I didn't have to be friends with people who were into pop music.” PeoplePopsPop Music Author:Ryan McGinley
“In college, all my friends were graffiti writers, but I never wrote graffiti. I wanted to participate and do something cool on the street, so I'd make these portraits of people. I'd isolate them on a white wall, make a silkscreen of it, and do these portraits in bathrooms and all around. That's how I started the Polaroids.” PeopleWantedWhiteStreetsCollegeWallMy FriendsPortraitsBathroomGraffitiPolaroidsWhite Walls Author:Ryan McGinley
“The cool part about New York is that you can do that. You can talk to all the people you admire.” PeopleCan DoNew YorkAdmire Author:Ryan McGinley
“Just being friends with people now for over 15 years, you realize what we all came out of. What we came out of was the intense feeling of growing up. It sounds kind of cliché, but it's true.” PeopleYearsKindFeelingsSoundRealizingGrowing UpGrowingIntenseJust BeingIntense Feelings Author:Ryan McGinley
“You find the people that you need to find. There's this gravitational pull.” PeopleNeeds Author:Ryan McGinley
“Whatever emotions you're going through, you somehow seek out the people that are going through similar emotions or that maybe have something you need.” PeopleNeedsEmotion Author:Ryan McGinley
“In a lot of ways I look at these old photos, and I don't know if I would have been able to communicate with these people on this level if I didn't have a camera. I think I would still be so shy.” PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWayLooksHas BeensStillsAbleLevelsCamerasCommunicateShy Author:Ryan McGinley
“I got a lot of attention when I was really young, and people have it in their minds that I'm still 24 years old. So I made the decision that I had photographed everything I was interested in in New York. New York is a town you have to embrace, but you also need to leave. I may revisit it one day, but for me it's a place to live rather than one to make work in.” PeopleMindDecisionAttentionOne DayEmbrace Author:Ryan McGinley
“You have to be able to observe life as if you were a camera all the time, constantly looking at light and the way that things are placed and the way people hold themselves. You need the ability to see something in someone or something that no one else really sees and be able to bring that to light. Basically, you have to be an obsessive crazy person.” PeopleIfsWayNeedsPersonsLightAbleAbilityCrazyCamerasObsessiveAbility To SeeCrazy Person Author:Ryan McGinley
