Year: 2019
Medium: spray paint, acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 100 x 100 cm (39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in.)
Acquired from PHILLIPS, 2022
One important element defining Plans’ immovable popularity is the “Animal Heroes” that appears in his paintings as his own spokesperson. These little heroes wear colorful masks and mantles, and scribble around with spray cans and chalks everywhere on floors and walls. While being innocent and cute, they also carry a sense of unease. Plan’s paintings are pop and light-hearted in content but employ very dramatic drawing techniques. Especially the contrast expression between light and dark seems to refer to the classical technique of chiaroscuro (a method of light and dark developed during the Renaissance and Baroque periods). In this work, from the shadow’s point of view, the contrast is between the joyous appearance of the “Animal Heroes” and the slightly scary figures of their shadows stretching across the wall. Furthermore, while the five people and two animals are in the same space, they do not make eye contact with each other. As indicated by the subtitle “Artist”, the word “Artist” is written in large letters in the painting. It includes the contrast between Plan’s loneliness and success as an artist that is sometimes compared and discussed alongside Basquiat and Twombly.
