You're getting a medal from the State Department. What service have you done for your country?
There's a program called Art in Embassies, and it's celebrating its 50th anniversary. I started to participate in the '90s. My work has been on loan to embassies in Czechoslovakia and France. Now there's a work of mine, Tulips, in Beijing.
One of your big interests as an artist is sex, and some of your work has led people to think of you as more provocateur than diplomat. Is that a misconception?
Sometimes honesty can just be very shocking, and I was always...