KAWS (American, b.1974) is a notable limited-edition toy and clothing designer. He was born in Jersey City, NJ, as Brian Donnelly. Growing up in New Jersey, KAWS first became interested in graffiti in elementary school, where he spent a good deal of time copying graffiti images onto paper. His first influences were neighborhood children, who painted graffiti images on walls within his community. As he grew older, his influences came from traditional life painters, such as Gerhard Richter (German, b.1932), Klaus Oldenberg (Swedish, b.1929), and Chuck Close (American, b.1940).

KAWS’s career began as a graffiti artist in New York, NY, in the early 1990s. His images were seen on billboards, bus stops, and in phone booths. He obtained his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. Immediately after graduation in 1996, KAWS began working as a freelance artist for Disney, creating animated backgrounds. Some of his most popular works include his contributions to 101 Dalmations, Daria, and Doug. Once KAWS began to gain popularity, his graffiti advertisements became highly sought after. He traveled extensively to work in Paris, London, Germany, and Japan. In 1998, he received the Pernod Liquid Art Award, which offers a grant to new artists.

In late 1990s, KAWS began to design and produce limited-edition toys. These gained international popularity, especially in Japan. He also began to collaborate on several different toys, including with Nigo (Japanese, b.1970) for A Bathing Ape. Some of KAWS’s other popular collaborative works include his redesign of Mickey Mouse, The Michelin Man, and SpongeBob SquarePants. The artist’s solo exhibitions have been held at The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art in Ridgefield, CT, the Harris Museum in Preston, UK, the Parco Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, and the City Gallery Chastain in Atlanta, GA. His solo exhibition, OriginalFake at the Bape Gallery in Tokyo, Japan, featured a sculpture entitled Wonderful World, which sold for US$400,000

Kaws

American

Sorayama is known for his fine art, illustration, and industrial design. Of the distinction between the first two, Soryama commented in an interview: "Unlike art, illustration is not a matter of emotion or hatreds, but an experience that comes naturally through logical thinking."

Sorayama's first art book Sexy Robot, was published by Genko-sha in 1983. For the work, he used ideas from pin-up art, which in the book then appear as chrome-plated gynoids in suggestive poses. His next book, Pin-up (Graphic-sha, 1984), continued in the same vein. A number of his other works similarly revolve around figures in suggestive poses, including highly realistic depictions in latex and leather. His pin-up work appeared monthly for years in the pages of Penthouse magazine, and Playboy TV later aired made a television special on Soryama's art. Sorayama said of his pin-up work: "That’s my mania. I’ve been drawing them since high school. Back then, there was this thing for the Playboy and Penthouse playmates. Now, it’s the girl-next-door, idol type, but in our day, these pin-ups were like goddesses. I guess I could describe it as my own goddess cult." In 1985 Sorayama published the video Illustration Video, his first work apart from the books of illustrations. This features work he did for the films Brain Dead (1992), Timecop (1994), and Space Trucker (1995); design of trading cards, limited-edition prints, CD-ROMs, and the cover art for Aerosmith's 2001 album Just Push Play; art exhibitions; and the initial design for what would eventually become Sony's dog-like robotic "pet", the AIBO. He published an additional four books in the 1980s, and three new volumes plus a retrospective collection in the 1990s. Production models of Sony AIBO went to market on May 11, 1999.

In the 2000s, Sorayama's first-generation AIBO design (the robotics of which were developed by Sony's Toshitada Doi) received the Grand Prize of Best Design award, the highest design award conferred by Japan. AIBO has since been included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and the Smithsonian Institution. MOMA published a book, Objects of Design by Paola Antonelli, which included AIBO along with other noteworthy designs where form and function combine in harmony. AIBO was the first "artificially intelligent" mass-market consumer robot for entertainment applications. It has been the subject of special studies at Carnegie Mellon University and other academic institutions. Also in this decade, Sorayama produced nine more books and the Nike "White Dunk Project" included Sorayama's art among the 25 most inspiring Japanese artists.