The Flasher

KAWS and Effect

Here’s a pretty interesting video profile of contemporary artist KAWS by American TV network CBS (The intro with the bow-tied presenter and 80’s spray art graphic is fantastic)

For those not initiated with the work of KAWS, his artistic output and graphical influence within skate / street art culture has been wide reaching and pretty influential.

But what stood out to me during this profile piece is how he has managed to straddle significant commercial success (not too many artists have a jaw dropping flagship store in Aoyama, Tokyo) without detriment or any loss of credibility (i.e. appearing to have ‘sold out’) amongst his original fan base.

Evolving from a graffiti artist in NYC to what could be described as a worldwide youth brand is a pretty big leap, and given the fickle nature of contemporary art got me thinking about the influences of his success...

Fighting mass production – the contemporary art market thrives on limited runs of high quality product, KAWS has never flooded the market with his output (bar his original tags) and therefore kept the demand for, and value of his output high over time.

Using cultural hot spots – why does KAWS (an American) have his flagship store in Tokyo?

Firstly there’s a huge following of contemporary art, ‘kidult’ (kid-adult) vinyl toys and collectables. Secondly it’s arguably the world epicentre of ‘cool’, but being in Tokyo it makes it just a little too inaccessible to make it a mainstream shopping destination (see above).

Limited reciprocal collaborations that are true to the artists’ style. A small number of iconic brands get tagged or remixed for limited product runs; for example ‘The Kimpsons’ or ‘Levis x KAWS’, whilst the collaborating brand uses the equity of the artist to demonstrate their style credentials. 

Treading the fine line between artistic or brand consistency vs. the pressures commercialisation is extremely difficult, and often something that many don't suceeed at, but it's something at which KAWS seems to be excelling.

Does it really make you happy old man?

Louis CK has a great rant on Conan O’Brien here about dissatisfaction and our abundant lot in life.

And he’s right. We’ve got more of everything, more friends on Facebook than we ever intend to speak to and more entertainment options in-flight on the A380 than Blockbuster used to have on shelves 10 years ago etc.
 
Everything’s amazing nobody’s happy – Louis CK

The constant quest for 'more' is a funny old driver for us humans. We're never satisfied with what we’ve got. How hard is it to really say "No" to more? Easier when you’ve consumed more of 'more' than if you’ve only just started experiencing it I’d argue.
 
So I think Louis is right to call into question how much benefit he’s getting from a world of abundant technological connectivity, but perhaps he’s just hit the generational marker where he’s had more of 'more' and he knows more can actually detract, rather than benefit in the bigger picture.
 
I’d argue that Louis’s generation were fascinated and in awe of technological developments, and got to see some pretty landmark events. However, we’ve now reached the point where technology is so all pervasive and evolutionary (Moore’s Law.. no relation to 'more' I believe) that it's now 'generational' expectations where we're seeing the big change.
 
Louis saw the invention of the cable TV, the mobile phone, the internet etc., whereas a 25 year old has only ever had these devices turned on and working well. Facebook is a valuable addition but its not a technology development, rather something that runs really well on a technological development (the Internet). Since we’re not “watching” technology landmarks in the same way now, our expectations of invisible technologies and what they can/should do are now growing at a greater rate than Moore’s Law (probably doubling every couple of days rather than years!!)

So what I’m getting at is that invisible technology increases expectations at exponential rates from younger generations where they are less in awe of the technology, more demanding it to keep up with them.
 
So I’d argue Louis point is valuable, but he needs to let the younger generations simmer in their lives of ‘more’ a while before they bubble up to his view that "more is less".
 
The simple life is generational for most. Its only when you’ve had it (life) can you head towards the light.

The Art of Equality

Urban or Street Art – the use of the everyday urban environment by artists as their canvas – was for decades (and still is) much maligned by urban management and the art world as an eyesore for all parties that encounter it.

With the well documented rise in popularity of certain urban artists within the media, one would not be mistaken to think that now the grittier end of the art world was now the preserve of Sotheby’s auctions and those with wads of cash to spend.
 
Thankfully the urban and contemporary art world doesn’t agree, with the inclusive nature of urban art still being reflected in the ethos of a number of new urban art initiatives. 

The Street Art Awards are a not for profit celebration of the best street art produced in the last 12 months, as nominated, and voted for by the public, providing the forum for emerging artists who are appreciated by many, but may not receive the attention they deserve.

Make Art Public (MAP)– is a collective that utilises unused advertising billboards to curate exhibitions of contemporary artists across several Canadian cities.

The brilliance of this idea is that not only does it utilise unsightly vacant media inventory but transforms the space into a huge awareness driving distribution network for new home grown talents, whilst promoting the consideration of the arts and culture into everyday society.

Thankfully the inclusive culture of urban art is still pervasive within the upper echelons of artists too, as by now 1,000 Londoners will be the owners of Adam Neate pieces, following his mass distribution from dawn to dusk through the city’s streets a week ago.

Neate has always distributed his art within urban environments for people to discover, and even though pieces of his now sell for bundles, the democratic access has endured.

Think about it - a bin-man in London could find and enjoy a piece of Neate’s work that the Sotheby’s squad would pay a year of his wage for. Brilliant.