Brooklyn based street artist turned art world superstar Brian Donnelly (BFA 1996 Illustration), better known as KAWS, has made another giant leap in his creative career. Known for transforming iconic pop culture fixtures into cartoon like versions of his own, KAWS has now integrated his famous Companion character (which was recently seen floating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day) into a redesigned Moonman statuette for the MTV Video Music Awards. 
The KAWS Moonman will make its debut on August 25th at the Video Music Awards ceremony at the Barclays Center, which will be the first time a live national broadcast award show is hosted out of Brooklyn. “The connection to Brooklyn, it felt like it was the perfect time to reinvent an iconic image,” MTV president Stephen Friedman recently told The New York Times. “Consistent with our DNA of creative reinvention and constant reinvention, this felt like a perfect marriage.”
This isn’t the first time SVA’s finest have teamed up with MTV. Kevin O’Callaghan, chair of 3D Design as well as a member of the prestigious Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame, created the iconic “Popcorn” Trophy for the MTV Movie Awards.