The Inquisition: sculptor Kaws (aka Brian Donnelly)
Artist Kaws isn’t worried about being misunderstood
Maybe because it's been four years, he's ready to go — so he just stands up and leaves. It's not a serious concept. I was thinking of it as — I don't know — a bear holding little baby bears. [ ] Each of the sculptures has always existed as a single figure, but to me it's not [only] one single personality. This new work is a good way to make it seem like part of a larger story.
Yes and no. It's weird, because I work in several different fields. In 2010, I did a book with [art book publishing house] Rizzoli. Only in doing that book did I realise, 's***, it's been 20 years since I started'. My taste changes just as everyone's taste changes, so I don't want to be stuck as a toy designer or a street artist or a contemporary artist. I'd like to avoid those labels and make sure that I'm interested when I wake up.
[ ] No, for me it's nothing to do with respect. I feel that doing something like OriginalFake is just as respectable as doing a museum show. It's more about following my interest. Before I had the company, I was always curious about what it would be like to have a company. And now I know. [ ] It's something I just worked through. You know, you have to take things off the table to open up space to venture into new projects.
As an artist, I feel you can't think like that. You just have to try to focus on the work you want to make and try to make it good. I think about what I was doing last year — am I doing it better this year? Institutions or trends or any of that, are so out of your hands.
When I first opened OriginalFake, I didn't care if I showed in galleries. When I grew up, one of the artists that I liked was Keith Haring because of his Pop Shop [which sold Haring's designs]; it was in tune with the culture that I grew up with. It's important to have an honest dialogue with myself and with the people seeing my work. As far as institutions go, it's all people. As time goes on, the people who are holding the keys to the gate will get old and die, and then kids our age or younger will take the positions. They'll understand the significance of this type of work and what it means.
I don't really think about how I want to be recognised. I just think about what I can do to secure [the prospect] that I can make art until I die. I just want to be able to make things that I want to make. If I have an idea, I want to be able to bring it to fruition. That's really the goal.
