KAWS Partners Statue Still Sells Out
So, in spite of its critique, the KAWS Partners Statue (which is, by the way, made of plastic) has sold out in less than an hour at $180 each. Yeah, I’d turn my back too…
I’d like to go now to some commentary from @chauskoskis as left on my recent story on licensing and laziness in designer toyland:
Wish art toys be more like music or movies… No matter how famous you are, if you put out a low quality product, either a record, a movie. The people won’t go to the teathers or won’t buy the album… And the artist should return a year later with something much better in most of the cases… In toys, fans just want to have everything no matter even if they don’t like it either. I heard some toy fans, “Hmmm I don’t really like it but I will buy it anyways” and they pay 200, 300 for a toy. Weird… We are weird.
Indeed, we are.
And here is another great visual by @crazylikeafox11. Maybe we’re supposed to see this as KAWS conflicted? The artist is reaching out to grab the possibilities the ‘high art’ world is chucking at him, but his creation, the Companion, representing ‘the street’, is mortified? In this conceptual case, the fact that the “statue” sold out would just complete the story arc of the art piece.
But I’m not convinced. Since Warm Regards, KAWS has consistently been releasing products that laugh at his fame and his fans. Like another celebrity whose name begins with the letter K and recently had an “originalfake” wedding of her own, I see the tide turning on him in 2012. People like being part of a joke; not the butt of a joke. Morrissey sang it best 27 years ago: “That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore“.
Someone needs to photoshop in the “casual pepper spray” cop. The little guy’s just asking for it.
And maybe I’m still new to the scene after only a couple years but I don’t shell out money just to have something by a certain artist. (Seriously who has the money to do that?) Part of my new year’s resolution though was to pick up pieces from a several artists that I like. I don’t think the artists I want to support though would put out a bad product, but still, I’m not just going to throw my money at their next release. If I like something, am ok with the price AND have the funds, I’ll certainly buy it. If I think it’s kind of meh, I’ll pass. Perhaps some collectors are just a bit too obsessive and must collect them all! Personally, I’d rather stick to one colorway of something or one of a self-produced toy (so that others can also enjoy them–snatching up multiple of a limited release seems excessive when there’s others who have yet to snag a single piece. I’m all for supporting an artist, but show some love for the rest of the community and let someone else have a chance).
Anywho, this comment is more directed at what Chauskoskis said than KAWS. I agree with him that there’s too many people just buying cases of the next dunny release because “like OMG! I’m so into dunnys!” I think it’s more likely that they’re buying because they already have so many, not because they really like the product being put out.
I seem to like the partners figure and bought one. It is mainly a Disney tribute figure and I think it has it’s place in toy history. The small shy Companion figure begs for a meaning and differs so radically from the original stauue of Walt and Mickey that we can assume that it is a justified right to be influenced and to add a personl touch to the influence. Walhol did a perfect reproductioon of the Campbell Soup Can and that was accepted in time. Duchamp drew a moustach on the Mona Lisa and the when he did an exact replica of the Mona Lisa without a moustach, he called it the Mona Lisa shaved and thus captured the Mona Lisa for himself. Figure that one out.