OUGD505 / Studio Brief 01 / Research / KATSU

'KATSU is a prolific artist, vandal and hacker who emerged in New York City in the late 1990s. He tags both with “KATSU” and has also developed a single stroke skull icon.'

The social, ethical and political messages Katsu conveys are examples of how visual communication can be used to challenge society and conceive new ideas that can be both progressive and negative.

Katsu's 'tag'

'KATSU

Remember the Future

January 8 – February 22, 2015

The Hole is proud to announce the first solo show with the gallery by artist KATSU, Remember the Future. KATSU has participated in thematic group exhibitions in the gallery the past year that have focused on new ways to use technology in painting; however, this January, he stretches out to fill the entire main space with conceptual works in new media. In Remember the Future, KATSU exhibits many diverse pieces—including the Drone paintings he pioneered—that all look at how humans interact with the tools they have created.'

http://theholenyc.com/2015/01/02/katsu/

An eclectic exhibition of pieces that question the constructs of contemporary society.
Here we see two portraits made from the artists faeces, a sparring dummy made to imitate a police officer and a live installation of GTA: A game criticised for it's controversial manner.
The whole exhibition sits on a rubber floor, similar to that found in children's play areas, intended to portray the exhibition as expression of play / fun .  

In the opposite corner of the room, a series of static drones suspended from the roof rest below an artificial cloud to add to this sense of hovering. The drones are not the art piece here, they are somewhat a reminder of Katsu's well documented curation of the drones work (covered below). 

The provocative installation of a dummy wearing a police hat can portray a varying range of messages;
'Punch a police officer'
'Take your aggression towards the Police here; can be extended to a rebellion against society'
It could also relate to the retaliation of society to the killing of the innocent public by Police Officers; just as the incident that sparked the London Riots.

A mockery of the contemporary ravishing of selfies, this piece sits in between the frightening thought of a AI invasion and the comical values of taking such 'selfies'. A comment on the current and potential future of social construct.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-graffiti-drone-an-interview-with-katsu

'KATSU’s graffiti drone, which he hopes will soon be capable of autonomously creating its own artworks, challenges our notions of authorship, creativity and power: Who's the artist, the human or the machine? '

'He has developed a system to attach a spray can to a quadcopter, creating the world's first true graffiti drone. The drone is capable of spraying canvases or walls hundreds of feet high, granting the artist access to physical spaces that were previously inaccessible.'

Although the aesthetic of splattered paint is nothing innovational, it is the process and conceptual approach that renders the work innovational, embracing technology and raising the ever growing conversation about ownership and the new possibilities that conceive with progression in technology.