When it was announced that KAWS was working with the Clipse on their latest release, Til The Casket Drops, we knew there would be cover art for the singles and album. But we never imagined that KAWS would get top billing with the rappers who made the track for just dropping his cross-eyed clip art over their logo. If anyone else deserves to have their name up there, it’s DJ Khalil, who produced the song, “Kinda Like a Big Deal”. |Nah Right|
How quickly they all forget. One of the many problems with the frequency of online communications is that it seems to cloud everyone’s ability to recollect. The “It’s here today, gone tomorrow” mentality has led to an often hazy collective memory of what’s been done before. Case in point, the new Complex features the former vandal turned very legal artist KAWS aka Brian Donnelly’s art on the cover and in several spreads. Just a couple months earlier—June to be exact—iD released their issue which also included the designer’s signature illustrations on the cover and in key spreads as the Snobs rightfully note—including a rapper in sunglasses with XX’s on the lenses. But long before the iD cover there was the work he did for French fashion magazine Jalouse in ‘07. Now to be fair, from what we’ve heard, Complex technically had KAWS come in and do his thing before iD dropped—but he must have failed to mention that he’s engaged in a similar project with another mag. So the question is, who’s to blame: lazy editors or lazy artist?
Long before Brian Donnelly—better known as KAWS—made mediocre ashtrays and designer vinyl toys that Japanese kids fawn over, he was taking out phone booth advertisers literally. The street artist would gain access to the kiosks and remove mostly hot model featured ads, replacing them with his signature character altered versions. This late 1990’s era of relevant KAWS art is highly coveted as recently demonstrated by this eBay auction, with his vandalized Christy Turlington for Calvin Klein ad selling for $22,000 after 51 bids. |WhatYouWrite|
KAWS can add this to his list of counterfeits: dock icons. Swiped and redesigned by Milo Mark. |MiloMark@DeviantArt|
Remember that shoot involving the KAWS designed, coke-white nostril mascot for the N.E.R.D.’s new video? Well MTV is reporting that a fight erupted on the set between two extras allegedly vying for more “camera”, with one of them requiring treatment at a local hospital. Although Lindsay Lohan and Kanye appear in the cocaine referenced video, neither of them were reportedly on location when the fists started flying—it’s assumed the Nose escaped without getting punched too. |MTV|
Scene from video shoot, but not of fight. |Photo: BBC
KAWS is a busy guy. When he’s not worried about being counterfeited, both real world & virtual, he’s making new and advanced characters like this larger than life size nostril featuring his signature double XXs for the N.E.R.D’s “Everyone Nose” single, which is strange considering it’s already a few months old. The BBC blog posted a few pics from the shoot, including this one of Kanye posing proudly with the coke-white nose. |BBC|
(Click pic for bigger nose)
Although plenty of people have counterfeited sketchy designer KAWS’ products and art in the real world, here’s the first virtual hijacking. It’s an online version by design-pranker Bjernie’s Fast Food featuring bootlegged 2008 Original Fake Spring/Summer stickers that you can paint by number. Not happy with the colorway? Scrap it and start again. It’s fitting fun for April Fools, and coupled with the disclaimer: “Produced without the permission of Kaws and OriginalFake,” priceless. |Bjernies’ O.F. Stickers|
Last time ANIMAL checked in on hypey-artist KAWS, he was posting some of the various knockoffs of his work that people sent in or he found on his own. Well things have just gotten a lot easier for counterfeiters with the former vandal relaunching his product-friendly website. That means no more waiting on long lines in Japan—assuming you were even able to find the store in the first place—to purchase the designer’s Original Fake wares. And now, in addition to the online store, the new site also sports a new blog allowing highsnobs to stay up on everything KAWS-related without ever having to go to Honeyee again—Silently, somewhere, American-hater Fujiwara is seething. |KAWS|
It ain’t just NECKFACE and Louie that have to worry about having goods knocked off, vandal turned overly hyped graphic designer KAWS gets counterfeited all the time. He presents a series of items that he expressly did not produce so take heed eBay stalkers. If you’re ever in doubt, he urges people to email him direct. Check out some more images of the fake original fakes swiped from KAWS’ blog after the jump.
Editor-in-Chief:
Bucky Turco
Contributors:
Copyranter
Kari Ferrell
Marina Galperina
Website design:
Michael Ian Weinfeld
