Art Is Power: The KAWS Effect

From being commissioned by Pharrell, Kanye West, and A Bathing Ape, Brian Donnelly Aka "KAWS" is making a statement in the art industry and is it all started on the streets of New York City. Read the rest of the article after the jump...

How did you get involved in graffiti?

It was just all around. It’s sort of, you know, if you have an art interest. … Actually, it’s great for a young kid who’s just interested in being creative, because you meet other kids who have the same interests. It’s like you play soccer. You meet kids that play soccer, and you just come out of the woodwork when you get involved. I started painting other imagery like the skull and crossbones and when I got into breaking into the phone booths and the bus shelters, and I started using that imagery and kind of let the lettering fall out. I started to think about it almost like competing with the advertisers for space. That’s how I saw graffiti; I mean it was the parallels that were really kind of funny. The point is to make work that would last on the streets and almost just be there, but not. You know? Maybe someone doesn’t even stop but later is like, “What was that? Weird ad.”

And New York was your canvas?

Yeah, I grew up in Jersey City and I was coming to New York when I was a little kid skating. I moved here in ’96. Growing up, a lot of the way I got to see art and learn about things happening outside of Jersey City was through magazines and stickers and graphics and stuff. So now, when I’m making work, I’m always thinking how can I communicate within these avenues to make those bridges for kids and pull them out of their holes into other worlds? And I’m not just thinking of kids when I’m creating something. I’m always thinking of like — I’m probably turning red, I turn red a lot — but I always think of how I grew up and how I came to this and sort of the different opportunities and different ways of finding that. And I always try to think, There have to be other people like that. How do you reach them? Or, how do you like pull them into the mix or show them kind of ways to get into other things that they want to get into? That they might not know they can get into?

Read The Rest Of The Article At The KAWS Effect: NY Times and Check Some Artwork Below...