"The difference is that the first human who rendered a figure—abstract or representational—did so on a ground that was a ready-made found in nature. My ground is not a ready-made...The slab I create is a ground. It is a concrete statement about matter, the same as a stone fragment, a piece of skin from an animal, a bark from a tree, or a cave wall. Once I make it and put my mark on it then I can apply any variety of subjects or symbols as I desire."

Jack Whitten