MOMA's toys

Did you know that the Museum of Modern Art, New York (MOMA) is the only museum to have Kidrobot toys (or analogous objects) as part of their permanent collection? Though Kidrobot was featured in the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Design Life Now: National Design Triennial 2006, the objects are not a part of the museum’s permanent collection.

In 2007, nine Dunnys and three Munnys, produced and retailed by Kidrobot, were brought into the MOMA's collection- Dunny designs by: Cycle, DOMA, Frank Kozik, Tilt, David Flores, Deph, Kenzo Minami, Thomas Han, and Huck Gee.

 

MOMA’s curatorial staff justified the acquisition of these objects art part of the Design and Architecture Collection based on several criteria. The production of the objects was tied into the history of mass production as well as serialized production, in the form of the applied decoration. The label copy for each object credits Paul Budnitz and Tristan Eaton with the design of the form and each artist who is responsible for the design of the applied decoration. Christian Larsen, Curatorial Assistant in the Dept. of Architecture and Design at the time of the acquisition explains that MOMA was “looking at it as a collaboration between the industrial and the artistic . . . trying to marry those two things together.” Larsen also noted that the Kidrobot toys were tied into the legacy of toys that were already a part of the MOMA’s collection on the one hand, and also highly representative of a recent phenomenon within design: 

"It was about. . .the contemporary currents within design—that these are highly representative of serialized production, but also mass customization, everything that is happening [now] with rapid manufacturing . . . that allows you to customize something on a whim. These are on the one hand standardized, then extremely customized. It’s another kind of permeation of this trend that has been happening in design—to create unique objects."

MOMA has set a precedent for the museum world in this declaration that these art toys are museum-worthy.  


The following are all Collection Museum of Modern Art, New York:

Mao Dunny, 2005, Frank Kozik

Tilt Dunny, 2005, Tilt

Doma Dunny, 2005, DOMA

   Cycle Dunny, 2005, Cycle

Bad Dunny, 2006, David Flores

Big Mouth Dunny, 2006, Deph

Kenzo Minami Dunny, 2006, Kenzo Minami

A group of Kidrobot toys was a part of the MOMA’s exhibition Just In: Recent Acquisitions from the Collection (December 21, 2007- November 30, 2008), but to my knowledge they have not been on view since . . .

Vinyl kills

Yesterday I was finally able to hunt down Vinyl Will Kill! An Inside Look at the Design Toy Phenomenon, ed. Jeremy, 2004. The book calls itself: "the first major book in the world on the designer toy movement." The book exists in several library collections across the country, none of which were willing to let it go out on inter-library loan. Fortunately, I was able to access it at the New School's Gimbel Library, and even there it exists in their special collection. What makes this book more "special" than others is that it is packaged in a box that lists its contents: “1 designer poster, 36 web cards, 232 page book”. 

I had never heard of the artist Jeremy before or Jeremyville, but he appears to be rather prolific and this book surprised me. In the preface, Jeremy explains his intentions behind the book:

“Something very exciting and very fresh was happening right now, and I needed to make a contribution to this movement immediately, before the paint peeled from the sneakers, literally and metaphorically . . . So it was this first hand, insider look at all stages of this global movement . . . from designer to producer to retail store . . .that we hoped to capture here in print, through a series of informal interviews with the leading players in this design toy circle. A book that’s your own backstage pass to this designer toy phenomenon, and your key to looking ay a piece of pink vinyl in a different way."

Though overall the content was uneven, there were several substantive interviews- much longer and more in depth than others I've come across in similar publications. However, the book still remains elusive to someone who is unfamiliar with these toys- something I've been encountering with my other sources. This, and the other comparable books, are the projects of those who are very much involved in the art toy world, the result of which is more analogous to a club member's handbook than an insider's guide. In order for my thesis to be accessible I aim to thoroughly contextualize art toys and try to explain them to the layman. 

In my queue . . . .

I just discovered Toypunks: Vol. 1 and put it in my Netflix queue! I can't believe I haven't come across this before. Here is an amazing blog about its production. Looks like volume 2 is well in the works . . .

Bounty Hunter

I am currently working on a chapter focused on a context for art toys, and specifically Asian parallels for these objects. Bounty Hunter, a clothing boutique in Tokyo seems to be a very important link between East and West in the world of vinyl. Founded in 1995, the boutique quickly gained a cult reputation for 1970s music and popular culture paraphernalia. I'm talking Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash t-shirts and Star Wars and Cap'n Crunch toys. They then started collaborating with other artists, colleagues, and friends, creating original t-shirt designs. Out of this was born one of the first vinyl figures- Kid Hunter. 

Kid Hunter was the brainchild of the well established Japanese graphic designer Skatething, responsible for the clothing company A Bathing Ape and the fashion label 40% Against Rights. Initially Kid Hunter was produced by Bounty Hunter as a sort of accessory that, was free with the purchase of a t-shirt. After Kid Hunter, Skull Kun was the second vinyl figure conceived of by Hikaru Iwanaga and produced by Bounty Hunter.

Both Kid Hunter and Skull Kun have since become exemplary images of Bounty Hunter, who has continued to produce vinyl toys on a larger scale. 

What I also found out is that Bounty Hunter is responsible for facilitating the creation of arguably the most iconic figures in vinyl——collaborations with James Jarvis, KAWS and Frank Kozik. The first incarnations of the characters, respectively, Marvin, Companion, and the Smorkin’ Labbit were the result of a working relationship with Bounty Hunter! 

Martin X, 2008 from Amos Toys

KAWS, Companion, 1999

Frank Kozik, Smorkin' Labbit variation from Kid Robot

(My main source for information is: Vartanian, Ivan.; Iida, Akio.; Martin, Lesley A. Full Vinyl: The Subversive Art of Designer Toys. New York: Collins Design, 2006)

 

Pictoplasma

I just discovered Pictoplasma Berlin, a festival of contemporary character design and art. This my first encounter with the phrase "contemporary character design", and I think it's a very succinct way to explain the position of the toys I've been studying. Pictoplasma seems to be mainly focused on animation- their annual animation festival will take place this April. I discovered the Pictoplasma project while researching the conception of Dot Dot Dash: Designer Toys, Action Figures, Character Art, one of my main sources.

This publication was produced by the same minds behind Pictoplasma. In Spring 09 there was apparently an exhibition entitled Pictopia that "investigated the aesthetic principle of reduction and abstraction in the design of anthropomorphic characters" (taken from catalogue description). I have ordered the catalogue and am interested in reading the essays. Already, by just exploring the Pictoplasma website, I appreciate the approach and the vocabulary used in the discussion of the importance of character design to contemporary visual culture. It is very relevant to my project and am interested in using a similar approach in my writing.

Pratt DIY

The students in Pratt's digital arts program were inspired by Kidrobot's newest platform toys and appropriated the KR forms to produce this animation, the producti of a Fall 2009 course:

It's as if the Pratt students chose to digitally customize the forms of Munny, Rooz, Trikky, Raffy, and Bub. What's most interesting about this is how the characters are given personalities and come to life. There has been word that a Kidrobot feature film is in production (the date of completion is unclear). If part of the charm of these toys is that they are invented characters that exist independent of any other media, how will this feature film affect their conception and consumption? What happens when Munny becomes a movie star?

Resolutions

In 2010, and more specifically in the next two months, I resolve to post more often. I have been on a hiatus for a bit, but I am back. I just got back to New York after my hibernation in Buffalo and I'm ready to tackle this thesis head on! A draft of the first half of the paper is due on Feb 22- a rude awakening!

Just saw this post on the Kidrobot KRonikle for keychains that will be available by blink assortment in early February. I love the Murakami reference . . . .