Beschreibung
Produktdetails
Einband
Gebundene Ausgabe
Erscheinungsdatum
09.04.2026
Abbildungen
150 farbige Abbildungen
Herausgeber
Ralph Gleis + weitereVerlag
PrestelSeitenzahl
240
Maße (L/B/H)
29,5/22,7/2,5 cm
Gewicht
1265 g
Farbe
Schwarz / Weiß
Auflage
1. Auflage
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN
978-3-7913-9201-1
KAWS. Art & Comic explores the interplay between comics, comic strips, cartoons, and fine art.
This publication places the American artist KAWS in dialog with selected contemporary stances with a focus on the artistic autonomy of his characters, who unite characteristics of street, pop, commercial, and public art. Comics are characterized by a universal language and exist in many cultures as an accessible way of telling stories graphically, in words and images. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ad Reinhardt, and Kerry James Marshall were fine artists who created comics in a near-classic vein. And even prior to the advent of photography and (animated) films, caricature, satire, and frame-by-frame narration represented an attractive way in which stories could be conveyed—transcending boundaries both national and otherwise, addressing all age groups and social strata. Starting in the 1960s, artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and Keith Haring questioned the distinction between high and low art in a radical manner. Prominent contemporary stances of a similar bent range from KAWS and Joyce Pensato to Nicole Eisenman and on to Peter Saul. KAWS started out as a graffiti artist during the 1990s, whose practice evolved to overpainting posters and advertisements displayed in public; in doing so, his trademark strategy was to cover the models’ faces with a stylized skull and crossbones. He is especially well known for his larger-than-life figurative sculptures— frequently realized in varied materials from bronze, to wood, to inflatables—in the public realm. His COMPANIONs and ACCOMPLICEs, as he calls some of them, exhibit self-confident, shy, or sad demeanors. Sometimes they hug each other and other times they just sit there alone, covering their faces with their hands as if ashamed. They frequently appear alone, isolated and melancholy, though one also encounters them in groups or even as families. Comic characters will be seen throughout this publication as leitmotifs, including in works by contemporary artists such as the Pink Panther paintings of Katherine Bernhardt, the ceramic figures of Venezuelan artist Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, and Isolde Maria Joham’s paintings inspired by Asian manga culture: these artists go beyond employing the world of comics as a mere reference, examining specific characters and their physical dispositions through their portrayal, through the depiction of their physiognomy, and through their gestures and motions.
This publication places the American artist KAWS in dialog with selected contemporary stances with a focus on the artistic autonomy of his characters, who unite characteristics of street, pop, commercial, and public art. Comics are characterized by a universal language and exist in many cultures as an accessible way of telling stories graphically, in words and images. Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ad Reinhardt, and Kerry James Marshall were fine artists who created comics in a near-classic vein. And even prior to the advent of photography and (animated) films, caricature, satire, and frame-by-frame narration represented an attractive way in which stories could be conveyed—transcending boundaries both national and otherwise, addressing all age groups and social strata. Starting in the 1960s, artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, and Keith Haring questioned the distinction between high and low art in a radical manner. Prominent contemporary stances of a similar bent range from KAWS and Joyce Pensato to Nicole Eisenman and on to Peter Saul. KAWS started out as a graffiti artist during the 1990s, whose practice evolved to overpainting posters and advertisements displayed in public; in doing so, his trademark strategy was to cover the models’ faces with a stylized skull and crossbones. He is especially well known for his larger-than-life figurative sculptures— frequently realized in varied materials from bronze, to wood, to inflatables—in the public realm. His COMPANIONs and ACCOMPLICEs, as he calls some of them, exhibit self-confident, shy, or sad demeanors. Sometimes they hug each other and other times they just sit there alone, covering their faces with their hands as if ashamed. They frequently appear alone, isolated and melancholy, though one also encounters them in groups or even as families. Comic characters will be seen throughout this publication as leitmotifs, including in works by contemporary artists such as the Pink Panther paintings of Katherine Bernhardt, the ceramic figures of Venezuelan artist Magdalena Suarez Frimkess, and Isolde Maria Joham’s paintings inspired by Asian manga culture: these artists go beyond employing the world of comics as a mere reference, examining specific characters and their physical dispositions through their portrayal, through the depiction of their physiognomy, and through their gestures and motions.
Kundinnen und Kunden meinen
Wenn Comics plötzlich Museumslicht bekommen
Alrik Gerlach (Mitglied der Thalia Book Circle Community) am 12.05.2026
Bewertungsnummer: 3135937
Bewertet: Buch (Gebundene Ausgabe)
Manchmal liegt da so ein Kunstbuch vor einem und man denkt erstmal: Okay, cooles Cover, schicke Optik, wird bestimmt nett. Und dann blättert man rein und merkt ziemlich schnell, dass hier mehr passiert als nur ein bisschen KAWS zum Anschauen.
KAWS aus dem Prestel Verlag ist kein Buch, das einfach nur hübsche Bilder sammelt und sich dann zufrieden ins Regal stellt. Es will zeigen, warum Comics, Popkultur, Street Art und sogenannte große Kunst längst nicht so weit voneinander entfernt sind, wie manche Kunstsnobs gern behaupten. Und genau da wird es spannend.
Besonders stark ist, wie KAWS nicht allein gefeiert wird, sondern in einen größeren Zusammenhang gestellt wird. Basquiat, Lichtenstein, Haring, Comics, Cartoons, Figuren, Gesten, Einsamkeit, Öffentlichkeit. Plötzlich merkt man: Diese X Augen sind nicht nur ein Markenzeichen, sondern fast schon ein Gefühl. Ein kleines inneres Ach Mensch, das zwischen Design, Kunstmarkt und Melancholie herumsteht.
Klar, das Buch ist nicht mal eben leichte Bettlektüre. Es ist eher ein Kaffee, bei dem man sich kurz schick hinsetzt und so tut, als hätte man sein Leben im Griff. Aber genau das passt. Es fordert ein bisschen, sieht dabei verdammt gut aus und macht Lust, KAWS nicht nur als Hype zu sehen, sondern als Teil einer größeren Bildsprache.
Für Kunstfans, Comic Liebhaber und alle, die gern Bücher besitzen, die beim Durchblättern leise sagen: Schau genauer hin.
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