Kchick suggested this, but I'm posting it first.
I was fortunate to grow up in and around New York City, and my mother made every effort to expose my brother and I to art by taking us to MOMA and the Met. My mom also let me form my own opinions, for the most part, so as a child, I made no distinctions between "modern" art and other stuff. Since I have no training, though, I could not tell you what cubism is or which artist was most prolific during which period or any of that shit. I just know what I like.
My biggest influence--and it should be embarrassingly obvious--is R. Crumb. He can make a single brush stroke holy or perverse. In my opinion, Crumb is the greatest American artist ever.
Moebius was always a big influence on me. When I was a little kid, my brother and I went through ink and nibs like crazy, and I copied Moebius drawings obsessively.
My uncle and godfather, Alain Perry, is one of my greatest artistic inspirations. He used to draw the political cartoons for an English-language newspaper in Paris. When we visited, he drew and published a drawing of me trying to take a photo of the Mona Lisa.
Ever since I can remember, I've loved Andy Warhol's art. I vividly remember a retrospective at MOMA, with lots of Campbell soup cans. What struck me immediately about his work was that the response of the viewer was as much a part of each piece as the piece itself. In my History of Art class at Berklee, we were discussing Warhol and some kid (probably a drummer) dissed my idol. The teacher asked if anyone could defend Warhol and I did, saying that Warhol forced viewers to consider context. I don't know if I was right or not, but I was proud of myself.
Picasso has also been a long time favorite of mine. When Guernica was at MOMA, my mom made a point of taking us in to see it. I must have been ten years old. I stared at that painting for at least a half hour, and I made my mom take us by it again on the way out.
Jack Kirby is another big influence on me, though I don't draw anything like him. Same with Steve Ditko, especially his early Doctor Strange stuff.
