Billy Al Bengston — American Artist born on June 07, 1934,

Billy Al Bengston is an American artist and sculptor who lives and works in Venice, California. He was educated at Los Angeles City College Los Angeles, CA, California College of Arts & Crafts Oakland, CA, and the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA... (wikipedia)

Art is something you can't teach, but you can inspire it.
I paint stupid things; that's what I do. I can't think of anything more boring than a really beautiful thing. You have to mess it up. There has to be something a little kinky to keep their attention.
I'm doing what all modern artists do now, which is nothing - just sit around and dream about things. I'll do what they call 'the stroke of genius.'
For me, the heyday was in 1959. It was before the Ferus Gallery moved across the street, in the days when Ed Kienholz and Walter Hopps ran it. At that time, art was taken very seriously in terms of being an artist, and not as a profession.
The art from the East is influenced by nature and touch. That comes from being more attuned to the environment.