Thought of the Day

Iconic fashion photographer David Bailey (who has worked with Penelope Tree, Jean Shrimpton, Jane Birkin, Mick Jagger, The Beatles, Catherine Deneuve and Marianne Faithfull, to name a few) was asked by Guardian Unlimited what he thought of the UK's new curriculum which introduces children to five hours of culture per week (art, music, etc.).

Bailey answered:

I learned nothing at school. I didn't really go until I was eight, and I left on my 16th birthday. The only person I liked was an art teacher - a woman, of course - and she told me you couldn't put a line around things. I was amazed because that was all Walt Disney ever did. My real education came from reading and going to Hollywood movies with my mum - it was cheaper than putting another shilling in the meter.

They never told me Van Gogh cut off his ear because he couldn't get it up; they never told me Caravaggio was the character he was. If they had, it might have been different - it was all too academic. I didn't discover Picasso till I was 17. I didn't know art galleries existed. But I don't like the idea of compulsory culture.

See some of his best work here.