Mark Kostabi, along with Keith Haring, Jeff Koons, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kenny Scharf and others, emerged in the 1980's as a member of a group of East Village artists who set out to redefine the role of the artist and art. Like Haring's 'Crawling Baby' and Koons' 'Puppy,' Kostabi's iconography includes the archetypal 'Everyman' figure - an androgynous, faceless, universal person that communicates easily and speaks directly with the public. Kostabi's figures, which are still the basis of his art today, embody themes of dislocation that reflect loneliness and alienation in a complex world that is overwhelmed by media and technology.—Anonymous