I was intrigued by an article I read earlier today about an American artist who likes to be known as KAWS. (His real name wasn’t mentioned in the piece.) As far as I can gather the distinctive feature of his work is rather large , industrially manufactured plastic caricatures which tend to crop up in rather unlikely places. It seems that he is known mostly for his contribution to video games, and I gather that perhaps the origin of these peculiar figures lies in that context. For the life of me, however, I can’t figure out what claim these objects have to a description as “art”.
There is a persisting confusion in the world of art by which originality is assumed to be the primary determinant of interest and value. To be formally different is taken to be sufficient to make one’s work worthy of attention. I can’t help but think that there is something seriously awry here. Mona Lisa has no formal originality. It is a portrait. Similarly, formally speaking, The Hay Wain is a straightforward landscape. What renders these works of interest is their evident distinction within established formal conventions.
Anybody can be original. It is typical of the insane that their behaviour is remarkable for its individuality. I wish that we could put an end to the over-valuation of mere difference in art. A surprising amount of trash would disappear from the artistic scene if this were so.