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.

Ryan McGinley

Categorized in : Years People Growing Up

A camera gives you a purpose. by Ryan McGinley

A camera gives you a purpose.

cameras purpose giving

I didn't have much of a life in crime as a graffiti writer. by Ryan McGinley

I didn't have much of a life in crime as a graffiti writer.

graffiti crime

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.

wall college white

I knew my ticket out of the suburbs was art school, so I worked really hard to develop my portfolio and get a scholarship.

portfolios art school

My dad was in the Korean War. He got shot seven times. He had seven bullet holes in him. And out of his troop of 35 guys, he was one of nine guys that came back. And when he came back from that he had seven kids in seven years.

dad war kids

There was no luxury. I never got on an airplane until I was 18. We drove everywhere. My dad was like, "Waste not, want not."

luxury airplane dad

I was pretty Irish Catholic Jersey, the middle of the line. by Ryan McGinley

I was pretty Irish Catholic Jersey, the middle of the line.

jersey lines catholic

I couldn't wait to come to New York to reinvent myself. by Ryan McGinley

I couldn't wait to come to New York to reinvent myself.

new-york waiting

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.

mom brother children

I was growing up in the suburbs; I was one of eight kids. So I did have a community when I was younger, but all of my brothers and sisters were older.

growing-up brother kids

The cool thing for me about moving to New York was that I got to... by Ryan McGinley

The cool thing for me about moving to New York was that I got to create a new family.

new-family new-york moving

I was never raised with anybody telling me that gay was bad. by Ryan McGinley

I was never raised with anybody telling me that gay was bad.

raised gay

I was never told, "Fags are going to hell." You just didn't talk... by Ryan McGinley

I was never told, "Fags are going to hell." You just didn't talk about it.

hell

I was voted most artistic in school. by Ryan McGinley

I was voted most artistic in school.

artistic school

I didn't have to be friends with people who were into pop music. by Ryan McGinley

I didn't have to be friends with people who were into pop music.

pop-music pops people

I put all of my time into art because I couldn't go back to Jerse... by Ryan McGinley

I put all of my time into art because I couldn't go back to Jersey and work at Starbucks.

starbucks jersey art

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."

support-you art school

I think the driving force when I moved to New York was the fear of going home with my tail between my legs.

new-york home thinking

From 8 to 19, I was skateboarding every single day. That was my life. I worked at a skate shop. I watched skate videos.

skateboarding video shops

Actually, I didn't study photography at first. I went to school for painting my first year, poetry my second year, graphic design my third and fourth year, and photography my fifth.

photography years school