What Party #2 2020

Editor: So, this is KAWS' "What Party #2" from 2020. It looks like an image of one of KAWS's signature figures in blue against a bright orange background, and it's pretty impactful because of the bold colors and flattened perspective. What's your take on it? Curator: I see this work as a potent commentary on consumer culture and its impact on identity. The use of cartoon-like figures, almost childlike, is reminiscent of pop art’s appropriation of mass media imagery, but here the dialogue shifts towards exploring themes of alienation and commodification within contemporary society. Editor: Alienation? The bright colours make it seem quite cheerful, almost celebratory. Curator: The ‘X’ eyes, which recur throughout KAWS's work, speak to a kind of removal, an absence, almost a blindness perhaps brought about by this oversaturation. What does it mean when corporations can hijack one's attention? Considering the historical context of the late 20th and early 21st century and rise of the internet, is this ‘blindness’ an active and voluntary rejection of traditional values? Editor: So, are you saying the work's not just fun, but it’s really asking us to question all the things that seek our attention? Curator: Exactly! This tension between playful aesthetics and deeper, unsettling themes, really encapsulates a pervasive sense of modern anomie that filters into everyday life. Editor: It definitely gives me a lot more to consider. Thanks. Curator: The pleasure is all mine. Hopefully now it’s a little easier to resist the more banal solicitations of the digital age.