KAWS 在1990年代初進入塗鴉世界,之後才正式開始其以介入主義來創作的街頭藝術。這段時期,安迪·沃荷與凱斯·哈林等人的創作正逐漸抹去藝術品必然高高在上的地位,並因此形成對傳播性和流動性藝術的偏好,這些都對 KAWS產生重要影響。其藝術發展正好碰上電腦、互聯網等科技的迅速冒起,藝術家的多方面創作活動包括時裝、廣告、攝影和平面藝術,經互聯網時代的信息傳遞和互動而發展出無限變化與可能。《同伴(休息處)》結合不同視覺出處,挑戰真實和原創概念,現實社會既需要身份,亦講求匿名性,既崇尚個人化特質,也追求融入大眾,此作品一一對上這些特性。對於 KAWS 等後普普和後極簡藝術家而言,藝術「不是會把藝術家限制在框架以內的監獄,而是所有其相反的,開放、無盡的領域,可以讓有才情的人盡情漫遊,不會被貼標籤,保持其獨立性。」(Germao Celant,〈BD and K〉,展覽圖錄,Brian Donnelly, Germano Celant, Gary Panter, Harry Philbrick, and Mónica Ramírez-Montagut,《KAWS 1993-2010》,紐約:Rizzoli and The Aldrich 當代藝術博物館,2010年,47頁)
KAWS 事業早期涉獵商業廣告,但此拍賣作品不止有華麗的外表,亦呈現其內涵,並依然保持了情感上的距離,讓觀者自我定義其敘述和觀點。從其對廣告牌、電話亭和公交車站的廣告「破壞」,到他與大型文化品牌如Comme des Garçons、Nike和 Kanye West 的合作,KAWS 都深知圖像對慾望和權力的無聲影響,並對其發出自己的聲音。《同伴(休息處)》揭示了角色的主要器官和肌肉,作為既直白,又隱晦地探討在其作品光滑表像下的獨特性、著作者身份認同與生命的議題。
Mónica Ramírez-Montagut 更進一步設定 KAWS 對流行文化的表現中包含政治動機,改變我們文化和日常生活的力量比一般政治手法還要強。她問道:「荷馬·辛普森和海綿寶寶是不是更有效地融合與表達我們現今生活方式的矛盾?」Ramírez-Montagut 把這個問題留給讀者,並總結,KAWS 的作品是「新意念的守衛者,挑戰了同質性和霸權主義。」(Mónica Ramírez-Montagut,〈KAWS: 看見你,看見你自己〉,展覽圖錄,Brian Donnelly, Germano Celant, Gary Panter, Harry Philbrick, and Mónica Ramírez-Montagut,《KAWS 1993-2010》,紐約:Rizzoli and The Aldrich 當代藝術博物館,2010年,136頁)《同伴(休息處)》既激起了驚訝和欣喜,並融入了KAWS 最重要的精華於一件巨大的作品中,它引領我們對藝術的集體理解方式正在演變。
To understand the work of KAWS is to understand his roots in the skateboard and graffiti crews of New York City. Brian Donnelly chose KAWS as his moniker to tag city streets beginning in the 1990s, and quickly became a celebrated standout in the scene. Having swapped spray paint for explorations in fine art spanning sculpture, painting and collage, KAWS has maintained a fascination with classic cartoons, including Garfield, SpongeBob SquarePants and The Simpsons, and reconfigured familiar subjects into a world of fantasy.
Perhaps he is most known for his larger-than-life fiberglass sculptures that supplant the body of Mickey Mouse onto KAWS' own imagined creatures, often with 'x'-ed out eyes or ultra-animated features. However, KAWS also works frequently in neon and vivid paint, adding animation and depth to contemporary paintings filled with approachable imagination. There is mass appeal to KAWS, who exhibits globally and most frequently in Asia, Europe and the United States.