Rediscovering Kanye West's Lost Art and Design Tweets

Looking back on the days Kanye used to tweet, especially about art and being an artist.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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On July 28, 2010, Kanye West joined Twitter. He was later than most artists and celebrities to join the platform, which got popular in 2009, and he even chastised the company for allowing fake accounts posing as him to exist before he decided to join. Everything changed when, on the same day he started tweeting from @KanyeWest, he performed new songs at Twitter and decided to be an active user.

Fast forward to the present moment, and Kanye's deleted all of tweets, except his most recent ones in promotion of Yeezus. No one knows why he did it, but it reminds us of the time he deleted his blog, KanyeUniversecity, to much of his fans' dismay. Maybe he doesn't want all of his words or content to be permanent if it's not his music, or maybe it's something else entirely.

Regardless, the days when Kanye tweeted frequently were sweet ones. He reminded his fans of his humor, honesty, vulnerability, and relatabilty post-VMA Taylor Swift interruption, and it was endearing. In particular, Kanye continued to prove that he's much more than a producer and rapper—he's an artist, inventor, curator, and facilitator of work and ideas that he wants to live on forever.

In getting ready for the June 18 release date of Yeezus, we've unearthed over 30 of Kanye's tweets specifically about art and design. If you were following him during the times they were tweeted, then you probably remember their impact. Remember when #KanyeTweets was a meme and trending topic, with even Aziz Ansari making up his own Kanye-esque tweets? Well, we do, and a lot of it stemmed from the art and design he prefers....like marble conference tables, Versace sofas, French book covers from the 1800s, Picasso, projectors, and so much more.


RELATED: A Visual Guide To Understanding Kanye West's Art Tweets

RELATED: 10 Artists Kanye West Should Work With

Rediscovering Kanye West's Lost Art and Design Tweets

Being a Student More Than a Celebrity

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Being Understood as an Artist

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Marble Conference Tables

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We're All Works in Progress

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Marc Newson Yacht

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Director of Photography Reels

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Getting Emotional Over Fonts

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Persian Rugs With Cherub Imagery

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Scientists and Designers

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I'm a Photographer's Dream

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Investing in Creativity

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The Initial Ideas for DONDA

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Van Gogh

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Commercial Art

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Picasso

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Designing the Typeface for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

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Runaway Artwork

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The Coolest Famous Creative People

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New Ideas, Exposure, and Fruition

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Being an Inventor or a Curator

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Sketching Yeezi 3s

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If Baroque and Mod Had a Car Crash

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Artists as Too Cocky or Way Too Bashful

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Living Inside a Helmut Newton or Guy Bourdin Book

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Being Uncompromising as an Artist

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Make a Mark That Lasts Forever

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Calligraphy

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Symmetry

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Gothic or Helvetic Fonts Only

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French Book From the 1800s

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Versace

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Pantone Charts

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I Feel the Glow

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Projector

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