The News #7 2017

Curator: Let’s spend a moment contemplating KAWS’ 2017 acrylic on canvas, "The News #7". The circle, the cartoonish blobs... It hits you like a sugar rush at first glance, doesn’t it? Editor: It does! My first thought is: vibrant discord. Those high-key neons shout for attention, and the overlapping forms create this really unnerving visual tension. All from paint, of course, probably from an acrylic base that creates those sharp edges between colours. Curator: Exactly! The clean edges juxtaposed against the almost biological, amorphous shapes…it’s intentional. I often see a childlike freedom, but with this adult knowing of what a total mess the "news" can be, in its many layers of meaning and construction. Editor: Absolutely. Thinking materially, KAWS' background in street art and commercial design is so obvious. The bold, flat colors and hard lines mimic screen-printing, that evokes an immediacy we associate with advertising. He elevates accessible materials to create complex commentary. Curator: Commentary or simply mirroring, I wonder? Is he critiquing or just holding up a slightly warped, bright, pop art mirror to our chaotic world? The abstraction... it almost verges on total annihilation of recognizable forms. Is that hope or despair I detect? Editor: Interesting. It definitely speaks to how much of "the news" is now transmitted through imagery. We don't always read articles or listen closely but these blocks of colors—abstractions themselves—leave a visceral residue. The *materials* become a tool to show information overload. Curator: True. Information as just texture, color, shape, no substance. A feeling, really. Like a raw nerve exposed...or just a really well-designed, glossy package. Editor: And it's worth noticing, with this flat surface, and circular boundary that echoes the surface that once belonged only to 'fine art', and still brings into question of where craft or street art begins or ends. KAWS keeps disrupting the market as much as our senses. Curator: Absolutely! I am off to spend my morning reevaluating what "news" really is. A screen, a splatter... the options are, after viewing this work, beautifully, terrifyingly endless! Editor: And, who knew that basic acrylic could provoke so many uncomfortable truths and unanswered questions!