Contemporary art: Kaws skulls recalling Warhol and Basquiat

The two crossed bones and “X” eyes reinvent the universal symbol of the skull using the unmistakable iconography of Brooklyn-based artist, KAWS. There cartoon face simplification, performed using strong lines and planes filled with monotonous color, make the character's expression ambiguous. The cheerful escapism associated with children's cartoons and Hollywood action films, such as Star Wars, is juxtaposed with a darker subtext: “When I first made the skull cross-eyed, I was thinking about the story of cross-eyed characters in animation… as implying being drunk or dead'.i Half android, half cartoon, the hybrid figure in Untitled (C3PO) by KAWS exemplifies the artist's appropriation of familiar characters from popular culture to explore ideas about mass communication, commercialization, and artistic expression.

Born in New Jersey in 1974, KAWS's interest in art has been shaped by his engagement with the skateboarding and graffiti subcultures. After graduating from the New York School of Visual Arts in 1996, he worked as an animator for Jumbo Pictures. It is in this period that he develops his distinctive iconography through interventions on urban surfaces. Taking advertising posters found at bus stops on the streets of New York City, painted skulls with crossbones and "X" eyes on the faces of models promoting luxury fashion brands. His interest in appropriating existing iconography to confront the viewer with the familiar, made strange, soon prompted him to revisit famous characters from popular culture including his own version of The Simpsons (nicknamed the Kimpsons), Disney's Mickey (Companion) and as seen in the present work, Hollywood films including Star Wars. Seeking to break down the ideological hierarchies of high and low art to broaden access to his work, KAWS brings his characters to life through a variety of mediums including streetwear, limited edition toys, large-scale sculptures and original paintings on canvas.

While KAWS's witty engagement with visual culture affirms his reputation as a resolutely contemporary artist, his appropriation of existing images (particularly those associated with the commercial) resonates with Andy Warhol's design and the American Pop Art movement. In turn, the development of his distinctive iconography through street art is reminiscent of the artistic practices of Jean-Michel Basquiat, their shared integration of the skull into their visual vocabulary, further cementing the resonances between the two artists' work. Yet despite such art-historical precedents, KAWS's unique configuration of popular culture references have combined with his distinctive imagery to establish his position as a truly international figure at the forefront of today's art world.