It has long been the case with many artistic forms ranging from painting to clothing design to revert to the innocence of childhood and child-like imagination for inspiration. Recently however, this trend has capitalized itself with the issuance and success of artist designed collectible toys. Yes, that’s right, I said toys. For those of you not deeply rooted in the low-brow bed of art that has been blossoming rather rapidly over the last decade, the latest edition to this ever popular genre has become vinyl toys and figurines designed and inspired by graffiti, comic book art and low brow styles. These toys, while relatively inexpensive (usually no more than $100) are not the type of things one is likely to leave piled in a storage bin or on the kitchen floor for Royal the family pit bull to maim.
It is safe to assume that most of us that call ourselves “art enthusiasts” don’t have $1,500.00 spare change to drop on every single original piece we fall in love with. The next best option is to opt for a print or vinyl incarnation of the artist’s imagination. This is where distributors like kidrobot.com, Nigyouishi.com and toytokyo.com have all made names for themselves by working hand in hand with these artists to create 3-D works based either directly on their series or inspired by the images they render. The artists designing range from street artists with a pension for gallery work to illustrators as well as established artists who have dabbled in the fields of design by bridging the gap between art and apparel. There is an extremely wide range of consumers that purchase these toys. Originally targeted to young men with a disposable income, the toys are becoming cultural signatures and even mild obsessions. From hipster parents collecting for themselves or their kids to grown singles who have begun to amass mini-armies of their favorite pieces. Collecting is now not only an investment but also a new way to appreciate art.
KidRobot was established in 2002 by Paul Budnitz as an internet company dedicated to distribute artist designed Vinyls to a large range of collectors, specifically targeting adults in the U.S. Budnitz had seen the success the toys had gained overseas in Asia and realized the potential they had in the states. Like most styles it came in waves. Beginning with a website, KidRobot later expanded into two retail locations knocking out both coasts with a store in San Franciso and another in good ol’ NYC. While perhaps not the first to expose and expel this art form to the american public, Kid Robot can definitely be accredited with making its own name. Today, the stores that sell these toys are just as commonly found as your local comic book depot. Why, you ask are adults, collectors, artists and people like you and I so interested in these inventions? They are affordable, unique, artistic and most of all enjoyable and interesting.
Some of the major design groups and collections include Kubricks and Bearbricks, Toy2R, Bounty Hunter and KidRobot. Kubricks range in design from Star Wars to Pulp Fiction to Disney themed toys. Bearbricks come in a one of a kind series that are shaped like bears. The bears are available in all sorts of styles and shapes. Toy2R makes one of the most infamous lines of vinyl toys, the Qees (pronounced keys). Qees are less than three inches high and are designed by artists all over the world. The Qee series is also available in a do-it-yourself feature that inspires up and coming artists to explore their own designs. Bounty Hunter makes comic like designs of creatures with artists signature sketches. KidRobot is most notably known for its Dunny series of artist designed bunnies that are available in both two and eight inch sizes.
As far as the future of these designs, many designers are shifting their gears towards Plushies as opposed to Vinyl. Plushies are similar to stuffed animals but with strange, unique or flat out absurd designs. While most designers today are doing Vinyl as a means of keeping it simple and not straying too far out of the box, Plushies are gaining serious momentum in the art toy world. Keep your eyes open for these soft, cuddly creations coming to a vendor near you. Also, you can update yourself and make some of your own predictions by picking up any of a number of toy loving mags including some of my favorites: Hi-Fructose, Juxtapoz, Giant Robot and Super7. These releases are full of new toys, one of a kind and limited edition series as well as toy conventions, new websites to drop by and the latest artists joining the craze.
Enjoy these images and for more information or purchasing power go to any of the webpage’s sited in the write up including namely kidrobot.com.
(Current Standing ~ 4 out of 5)
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May 11th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
thats whats up :shock:, i always seen these dunnys around but never really understood why people whould pay 50 beans for one, i like them but i think they are alittle over priced, have you ever bin to jinxed on 4th and south they have tons of stuff like this..great write up, what do you got in store for us next?-