Matt Black presents Reflections KAWS A sweeter version of death

REFLECTIONS: KAWS "A sweeter version of death...". from MATT BLACK on Vimeo.

Thirsty for Dos Equis or KAWS

Dos Equis by KAWS

KAWS exhibit at the Aldrich Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT.

Ginormous KAWS CHUM in Black







Bear Bricks!















Here are some photos I took recently there when I visited the Aldrich Museum

This first solo museum exhibition of the work of Brooklyn-based artist and designer Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS, includes his most recent paintings, sculptures, and drawings, as well as a survey of his iconic street art, apparel, product and graphic designs.




KAWS’s first aesthetic influences came from skateboarding, as did his familiarity with New York City. Around 1991, he started marking his name in different areas of New Jersey and Manhattan. By the time he finished high school, he was mostly focused on graffiti and started intervening on advertising billboards. While exploring new strategies and locations for his work, he obtained a tool for opening bus shelter advertisement boxes. This allowed KAWS to seize the posters, integrate his work, and then replace them. He added an inflated skull with crossed bones and X-ed-out eyes; sometimes the skull was part of a serpentine-looking body that wrapped around the models, a blend that was humorous and daring. Word got around, and when it came to the point where the posters were pulled down and collected almost as soon as KAWS had replaced them, he decided to move on. Next he channeled his creativity into his studio practice, as well as products he developed and distributed on his own and in his boutique in Tokyo, OriginalFake, in partnership with Medicom Toy.

Most recently, KAWS has been exhibiting the art he has been making as a daily practice for some time. His new paintings and sculptures reflect the wit, irreverence, and even affection that he inflicts upon the infamous and iconic entertainment and marketing characters that he loves/hates. KAWS’s characters are highly charged, humorous and yet bittersweet. Although they are recognizable by and accessible to everyone, ultimately they both serve and criticize contemporary consumer culture.

via Aldrich Art Cont. Museum

They are also on twitter account to follow: @TheAldrich

The staff was great, got to speak to Chris and Shannon who were so helpful and even took their time on where else to check out in town.

I was very fortunate since they only had a limited amounts of the Jun Takahashi of UNDERCOVER collaboration with KAWS Bear Companions which went out like hot cakes on the first day it was announced. I have to thank Lise for her hospitality and great service Merci Beaucoup!

The Cult of Personality

KAWS featured on the cover of New York Magazine

KAWS was chosen out of a handful of designers to do the Best of New York.

It actually took KAWS aka Brian Donnelly quite a while...he said: "But it actually took me a long time. I always have a general idea of how I want the letters to look, but then they'll get their own personalities as I'm drawing it."

Kaws Reception at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery

Kaws at the Franklin Parrasch Gallery tonight!

With a reception today, KAWSwill be featured in a show, Everything Else. This show consist of some of Kaws' gallery work, as he has an upcoming solo show at Gering & Lopez gallery this Fall.

Tonight's opening reception - Jun 19th 6-8pm
Date: Jun 17th - Aug 30th
Address: 20 West 57th St, 7th floor

KAWS at work

One of the true defining artist out from Jersey City, Brian Donnelly a look into how KAWS became who he was. He is best known for his characters and images which has now has hit vinyl toys, clothing, and accessories.
One of his shops, Original Fake, recently opened in the Aoyama district of Tokyo.

A true artist that keeps on reinventing himself, lets see what he has up next for us...

Do you guys remember this image? Well the image now has changed to the new logo due to Nike claiming that MIKE 23 label was copying Nike and Converse's trademarks in connection to all of you know Michael Jordan.





Scott Nelson is the owner of MIKE 23 and I ran into him in Feb.'05 out in MAGIC briefly and if you visit his site all he wantd to do was to pay tribute to the man who we brought the game to a higher level - Michael Jeffrey Jordan aka "Air Jordan".

Nelson is supposedly forced to disable any of his products that portray any logo/mark/design that infringes NIKE & Converse rights, which means he has to withdrawl all of those "infringing" products from the market and to disable MIKE23 immediately or at least take down any pages that refrence these logos/designs in reference to MJ.

Nelson is in no shape of trying to fight this giant but hope that there will be a resolution to all of this. He hopes that the corporate giant will reconsider since he has not damaged the company's brand, in fact has helped it indirectly but when it comes down to intellectual property there is a very fine line...and it comes down to the consumer if they can seperate his product vs. knockoffs that are being sold on the shelves.

I feel that this situation is similar to what happened to DJ Drama & Cannon last year down in Atlanta, GA when R.I.A.A. went after them. Here's the NY Times article.

Lets just hope that Scott and the folks at NIKE come down with some sort of resolution. More on the article here.

This "street culture" brought up by artists has always tried to connect to the consumer by re-interpreting pop culture and iconic logos/designs....(i.e. Andy Warhol to KAWS) Warhol has been doing this back in the 60's with Campbell's Soup Co. and Coke.

Re-appropriation of images for their subculture has gone on and on and will continue to draw controversy and debate about originality and legality whether its in music, art, or fashion.

I close this blog with one of my favorite quotes which summarizes Warhol's revolution in "pop art" which shows an ambiguity of perspective that cuts across nearly all of the artist's statements about their own work.

What's great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the cokes are the same and all the cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it.

– The Philosophy of Andy Warhol: (From A to B and Back Again), 1975, ISBN 0-15-671720-4