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)