Image via Complex Original
While we were watching Miley Cyrus wag her tongue and twerk onstage at this year's MTV VMAs, we were simultaneously viewing the latest work from legendary New York artist Todd James, also known as REAS. James' posse of dancing, sneaker-clad teddy bears rocked the stage at the awards show. His latest creations stay true to his iconic cartoon style, resembling much of his earlier work, which includes designs for Nike, graphics for Iggy Pop's album cover, and animation for Cartoon Network. Get to know REAS' work before his teddy bears with The Art Evolution of Todd James
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The Formative Years
Years: 1978 - 1980s
Notable works: New York Subway System
Born and raised in New York, Todd James' career took root when he was still in junior high. He began painting under the name "REAS" when he was only 12 years old, covering the New York City subway system, and soon his reputation grew among the graffiti community.
Graphic Design and Logos
Years: 1980s - Present
Notable works: Logo for The Source
Dave Scilken, who was the art director at Jive Records, took James under his wing and started him on a career of designing graphics. With Scilken's help, James worked for a number of freelance projects. Most famously, he was commissioned to create the logo for The Source magazine. He would go on to do commercial art for companies like Adidas and the Cartoon Network.
Creatures and Caricatures
Years: 1987 - Present
Notable works: The Beastie Boys' Brooklyn Dust Music Elephant
While working in graphic design, James began to experiment with more cartooning, creating playful creatures and caricatures. The iconic Brooklyn Dust Music logo he designed for Beastie Boys in 1987 is one such example. It was Dave Scilken who hired James to design the logo when the artist was only 17 years old.
Pink and Graphite
Years: Late '90s - Early 2000s
Notable works: n/a
From the late '90s to the early 2000s, James created many pink and graphite works. These line drawings are reminiscent of comic book art, and they hark back to his earlier caricatures.
Street Market at Deitch Projects
Year: 2000
Notable works: Street Market
In 2000, as part of a group exhibition on contemporary conceptions of mural art, James worked with Barry McGee and Steve "ESPO" Powers to create Indelible Market at Philadelphia's Institute of Contemporary Art. It was an installation depicting a street market of graffiti, bodegas, neon lights, beat-up vans, litter, and more.
The three artists reunited to make Street Market, a re-creation of the first project, which Jeffery Deitch brought to Deitch Projects in 2000. The installation was so successful, it was selected for the Venice Biennale in 2001 and traveled to Tokyo as well. It was also re-installed at MOCA in 2011.
image via
Collaborations with Musicians
Years: 2000 - Present
Notable works: Iggy Pop's Beat 'Em Up, Eminem Logo, Mobb Deep Logo
A friend of James' was working at Iggy Pop's studio and had seen Street Market. She showed James' coloring book Attitude Dancer to Iggy Pop. Iggy Pop expressed interest in using one of the book's images for his next album cover, eventually selecting the graphic of a girl with a gun pointing from her underwear. Apparently, Iggy Pop's label initially rejected the image, only allowing it when the musician insisted. James went on to design art for Eminem, Mobb Deep, and more.
Puppet Creations
Year: 2002 - Present
Notable works: Puppets for Crank Yankers
As an artist, James has never lost touch with his inner child, already evident in the cover he designed for the Beastie Boys. In 2002, James was hired to design puppets for Crank Yankers, a television show that first aired on Comedy Central and then MTV2. The puppets looked like grown up versions of Muppets characters combined with hip-hop stars, which made sense because a lot of the jokes are way too mature for kids.
Animated TV Shows
Years: Early 2000s - 2006
Notable works: Minoriteam, Zoo Force
Cartoons provide artists with a medium for subtle yet powerful social commentary. Perhaps that is why James, who has been a fan of cartoons like Spider-Man and The Hulk since he was a kid, got involved with the cartoon series Minoriteam. The show, which debuted on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, was thought up by Adam de la Peña, who worked with James on Crank Yankers and also made the TV show I'm With Busey. Peña, James, and Pete Girardi worked together to create Minoriteam.
Minoriteam features animations that look like old school Marvel Comics graphics. James' characters were named Dr. Wang, El Jefe, Fasto, Jewcano, Non-Stop and are based off racial stereotypes. These superheroes team up to fight the White Shadow, and you can probably figure out that allusion on your own. Using stereotypes to combat stereotypes? Kind of genius and no doubt reflection of James' own concerns.
Likewise, James' works in the early 2000s seemed increasingly concerned with the state of the world. He went on to produce Cartoon Network's Web Premier Toon Zoo Force, a show that centers around superhero animals who unite to stop the evil New Human League from taking over the human race.
War-Torn Days
Years: 2007 - Present
Notable works: Exhibitions "Trouble," "Make My Burden Lighter," and "Infinity Lessons"
Though James' animated creations seem to offer a more optimistic outlook on current events, the bulk of his more recent paintings depict much darker images. His exhibition, "Trouble," shown at the V1 Gallery in Copenhagen in 2007, for example, included imagery of blood, skulls, weapons, and military themes. James' exhibition offered scathing social and political criticism through his depictions.
Sartorial Talents
Years: 2008 - Present
Notable works: Sixpack T-shirts, Opening Ceremony Spring Breakers T-shirt, Todd James x Puma
Though James has technically been designing T-shirts since his days working with the Beastie Boys, the artist has since collaborated with various brands like Nike, Norse Projects, Sixpack and more. Most recently, James designed Spring Breakers-themed attire for Opening Ceremony as well as a line of Puma gear.
Somali Pirates and Bikini-Clad Babes
Years: 2012 - Present
Notable works: Exhibitions "Yield to Temptation," "Free To Be You & Me," "King Of the Wild Frontier," and "World Domination"
While James' war paintings aimed to point out the hypocrisies of war, his more recent depictions of Somali pirates seem to suggest that life itself is filled with contradictions, that nothing is simply black and white. James appropriately conveys these thoughts through colorful renderings of oblivious, bikini-clad babes and guerilla men, who are masked in headgear and bear AK-47s. The borderline abstract images offer a very different portrait of the media's depictions of war.
The Miley Cyrus Teddy Bears
Years: 2013
Notable works: Teddy Bears at the 2013 MTV VMAs
While the bored-looking teddy bears Todd James designed for this year's MTV VMAs were not the first creations he did for a music artist, they have no doubt brought him the most attention, thanks to Miley Cyrus' jaw-dropping performance. In an interview with Complex, James told us that the director of Miley's "We Can't Stop" video had approached James about creating the bears, and the rest is history.
