You have all heard of the New York-based artist KAWS, right? Most of us will recognize the characteristic, cartoon-like toys with x’s instead of eyes. The celebrated artist first became notorious in the early 90s for subverting (or as the government would say “defacing”) the advertising on bus shelters, phone booths, and billboards by adding his characteristic graffiti style to the images. Here’s exclusive footage of the artist explaining his motivation behind the pieces.
KAWS aka Brian Donnelly was born in 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey. He graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration. After graduating from college in 1996, Brian Donnelly worked for Disney as a freelance animator. At Disney, he had the opportunity to paint backgrounds and contributed in films such as 101 Dalmatians, Daria, and Doug.
He has since had solo shows at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, High Museum of Art, Modern Art Museum, and the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. Other international galleries include Galerie Perrotin and Honor Fraser Gallery.