I am Plastic, Too: The Next Generation
Paul Budnitz
Abrahms (2010)
With I Am Plastic, Too: The Next
Generation in Designer Toys the exploration of the designer toy
phenomenon by Kidrobot's Paul Budnitz
picks up from where his first book left off. And much like the first I Am
Plastic, Too it is a highly personalised overview of some of the best art toys
created in the past few years; ranging from vinyl and resin figures to those
made from wood, and even a small selection of plush toys. The book also focuses
on one of the latest and most exciting developments in designer toys, the
production of one of a kind custom figures. These
custom figures are unique signature objects and often run into the thousands of
dollars in cost, and as a result are greatly desired. This has required the
regional production of these one off toys also undergo a shift of focus from
East Asia to the West (primarily America) where the vast majority of artists
now live and work, and that too is reflected in this book. Making a selection
of art toys for inclusion in this book was always going to be a difficult task,
for compared to even three years ago there's a plethora of new artists working
in the medium so inevitably some were going to be included and others excluded.
Of course this choice was made easier by the fact that Paul Budnitz
has a highly idiosyncratic, particular and eclectic taste that is unmistakably
his. But for me the great beauty of the designer toy phenomenon is that not
every artist is going to appeal to every collector, some will have favourites
whose output they follow avidly and others they aren't especially interested
in. And as these artists come from a diversity of creative backgrounds who each
have their own unique aesthetic and who come from nearly all corners of the
globe that ensures there will be a wide range that caters for all tastes, no
matter how unusual they might be.
The
toys covered range from those solely created by individual artists to classic
series such as the Dunny and Munny by Kidrobot, and the Qee by Toy2R.
Some of the talented artists included in this book are Amanda Visell, Julie West, Kathie Olivas,
Junko Mizuno, Andrew Bell, Marka27, Doktor A, Huck
Gee, Joe Ledbetter, Peskimo, Bunka and Mori Chack. Companies, brands and artists collectives are also
included from Kidrobot, Strangeco,
Tokidoki and FriendsWithYou
to Artoyz and Crazy Label. Relevant info, facts and
websites are given as well as some fascinating interviews interspersed
throughout the book.
The
inclusion of vinyl figures based on trademarked characters created by Matt
Groening seems a little incongruous in the same book as those created by
artists whose work is highly quirky, unusual and often unsettling. He may be an
incredibly creative individual but I don't see how Simpsons or Futurama figures created by a man with a multimillion
dollar empire are any different to the mass produced Garfield or Smurfs figures
that I collected when I was a kid, and perhaps I'm wrong, but somehow they
don't seem to fit in with the whole artistic outsider ethos that for me
designer toys embody. Designer toys are a lowbrow avant-garde form of
expression that uneasily straddle the world of art and commerce; they are art
objects yet commercial products sold through specialised retail outlets, but in
a strange way they cleverly subvert the whole consumer process from within.
Paul Budnitz has carefully selected an exhaustive
cross-section of artists that are representative of the various trends in
designer toys today, and even if you don't like all of them there will
definitely be others whose work is pleasantly new to you. Beginning with
artists from the United States it then moves to Japan, Europe, China and lastly
the rest of the world. I Am Plastic, Too:
The Next Generation in Designer Toys shows that the art toy movement is in
a constant state of flux, renewal and transformation and hopefully this will
keep the movement healthy, vibrant and true to its creative roots well into the
foreseeable future.
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