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.