A while back I visited the High museum in Atlanta to see a show on Modern Masters that included Jasper Johns, Modrian, Picasso and Warhol and a slew of other notables of the early-mid 20th century artists. But as much as I admired their work I found myself wanting towards the end. In art school, these are the guys that you learn about. They may have been modern from a historical perspective but you could easily consider them analog in what is now a digital world. Some of the processes that these masters built their reputation on are now presets and filters in consumer oriented software. And yup, you can find Cubist greeting cards and post modern paintings at your local big box store. It’s a testament to their hard work and vision. They changed the course of art.
Their mark on the art world is undeniable. But I wanted to see more. Their work informed the present. Who would build the proverbial bridge to tomorrow? Little did I know that the answer would lie a couple floors up. Current artists’ latest works littered the top floor of the High and they were a stark contrast to the modern masters pieces that preceded them. In aesthetics as well as materials and finish. Machined crisp, digitally etched, meticulously crafted and carved works of art. This was the future. I was no longer witnessing the birth and adolescence of pop art, I was seeing the next generation.
And one person works stood out among the stellar cast of creatives. KAWS. The main draw for me is that his focus was illustration and cartoons. Something I readily identify with seeing as I’ve drawn all my life as well as collected comic books, watched cartoons and created characters of my own.
There are people who only know the toys I make. There are people who only know the graf I did. And, you know, I’m probably reaching new people that are only familiar ’cause they go to the galleries. Or maybe they just know the clothing and don’t know, you know, that I happen to paint. … So it really just depends on the entry point. I prefer to not compartmentalize myself.
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