{"id":76552,"date":"2019-05-10T08:07:57","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T08:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=76552"},"modified":"2019-05-10T08:31:10","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T08:31:10","slug":"kaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/kaws\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is KAWS everywhere right 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KAWS <\/span><\/a>has had a big year. Brian Donnelly, the artist behind the \u2018X\u2019-eyed characters, was a huge presence at Art Basel Hong Kong with the 115-foot-long <\/span>Companion<\/span><\/i> sculpture floating in the Victoria Harbor. Less than a month later, KAWS broke his own auction record by selling a Simpson-inspired, <\/span>The KAWS Album<\/span><\/i><\/a> painting at a Sotheby\u2019s auction for $14.8 million, more than 14-times the estimated sales price. He has even infiltrated high fashion, as the <\/span>Spring\/Summer 2019 Dior x KAWS <\/span><\/a>collaboration hit stores in November. \u00a0The massive exposure has brought with it fans that wouldn\u2019t traditionally gravitate towards fine art, but also critics from the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is mass appeal to his work and that is always suspect in the art world,\u201d executive director at the <\/span>Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit<\/span><\/a>, Elysia Borowy-Reeder, says. \u201cIt isn\u2019t a place where you have a lot of groupthink. It is not your typical art collector that is captivated by KAWS, it is everyone from an 8-year-old to a 24-year-old.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While critics, such as art advisor Josh Baer, have given scathing <\/span>reviews<\/span><\/a> of KAWS saying, \u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019s a super nice guy and a great businessman. But I don\u2019t think that the history of art will go: Matisse, Pollock, Johns, Basquiat, KAWS;\u201d Borowy-Reeder \u2013 who is curating the exhibition <\/span>KAWS: Alone Again <\/span><\/i><\/a>at MOCAD \u2013 compares the graffiti-artist-turned-fine-artist to Off-White designer Virgil Abloh, rather than other visual artists. Although their work is very different, the way they work is the same: through collaboration. Whether it is Abloh\u2019s quotation-marked phrases or Donnelly\u2019s \u2018X\u2019 eyes, the trademarks are easily integrated into new source material.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BxNBYLUnsfp\/","settings":{"width":"10"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

\u201cAbloh was the first one to say how many collaborations are too many,\u201d the MOCAD director says. \u201cIt is about maintaining their ability to keep your point of view and think through how the collaboration will play out in the public and anticipate how you can keep your vision and aesthetic in tack, in spite of some of the hurdles that are proposed when you collaborate. \u00a0You have to be a tremendous thinker with elasticity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of what makes KAWS so comfortable working with other people\u2019s imagery is his beginnings in street art. In the early \u201890s, Donnelly began his career by spray painting over advertisements to undermine the commercial imagery. But almost 30 years later, he has moved on to more elaborate endeavours, like the 7 to 20-foot wooden sculptures that will be on display in Detroit. The cartoon figures feature versions of KAWS\u2019 signature Mickey Mouse subversion, but their aim is to convey human emotion.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhen you look at the sculptures in particular, you can see that there is a connection,\u201d Borowy-Reeder says. \u201cThe figures are not human, but they have human attributes. You can feel the larger figure being protective of the smaller figure in the way that they stand and how their arms wrap around or rest. If you look closely you will see that there is a great amount of motion in these simplified characters.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>Like the animated characters KAWS plays off of, the figurines are easily understood and recognisable. But like fashion, it is something everyone wants to participate in, which can worry those who don\u2019t see fine art as a popular endeavour.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"instagram","code":"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/BwzYLFChjXE\/","settings":{"width":"10"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

\u201cEveryone is always worried about commercialisation in the fine art world,\u201d Borowy-Reeder says. \u201cBut in my time in the art world, spanning 13 years now, you have seen the commercialisation and the professionalisation of the art world. \u00a0It probably started with the French impressionists at the MET. You have to get your Monet tote bag or you Manet umbrella. It is about having a piece of art in your life.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Arguably, the only difference is that KAWS is in charge of his own collaborations at accessible price points, like those with UNIQLO and Nike. It may be too soon to say whether or not KAWS will go the way of Warhol or Basquiat, but his broad appeal is not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

KAWS: Alone again<\/span><\/i><\/a> opens 10 May and runs through 4 August.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\nWhy is KAWS everywhere right now? Why is KAWS everywhere right now?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/kaws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why is KAWS everywhere right now? 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