J O'Shea/Editor
Shepard Fairey
Everlast
Dr Romanelli
Lupe Fiasco
Billy Gibbons
Christian Parkes
Davey Havok
Eric White
Erik Foss
Christian Hosoi
Josh Davis
Kenna
Mark Ryden
Masa/Three Tides
Sarah/Colette
Scott Campbell
Tim Biskup
WK Interact
Donny Miller
Lance Mountain
James Jean
Andy Cruz
Adam Glickman
Ron English
Jose Parla
D* Face
Eric Nakamura
Nathan Cabrera
Kostas Seremetis
Phil Frost
Kyle Ng
Suitman
Just when the innovation level of the vinyl toy market hit an all-time low alongside the economy, MARK RYDEN and TAKASHI MURAKAMI have unveiled killer new signature figures to inject some much-needed vitality into the genre. Coming soon from LONG GONE JOHN’s secretive NECESSARIES TOY FOUNDATION is the first vinyl toy from master painter MARK RYDEN. Long ignoring the world of toys—and rightly so—Ryden has finally teamed up with his most avid art stalker to release this diminutive version of his multi-eyeballed pink totem pole that originally appeared in (and derives its title from) the painting “YHWH,” that first appeared in his 2004 “Wondertoonel” show. With an expected release date of Summer 2009, young art goths in search of this Holy Grail best start camping out at your neighborhood toy stores now. Meanwhile, Takashi Murakami’s “Inochi” figure, produced by Japanese toy giants MEDICOM and based on the artist’s character who has appeared in a series of hilarious and surreal Japanese TV Commercials and as a life-sized sculpture in his traveling “© Murakami” art show, has just hit shelves as part of a new exhibition at the artist’s own KAIKAI KIKI gallery in Tokyo. With doors open to the public on Saturday, The show made available five Inochi figures in as many different colored outfits in an edition of 200 pieces each that retailed for a whopping $1,500 USD. In the words of Murakami’s camp: “Fashioned with an astounding attention to detail, the Inochi action figure is a small-scale replica of the original sculpture, created by world renowned toy manufacturer Medicom Toy. Like its larger counterpart, which was subject to over six years of work before reaching completion, the action figure has been in planning for nearly three years. The result features a level of perfection that exceeds that of a mere toy and accords it the status of a work of art. The figure also comes with costuming, in the form of Inochi’s school uniform and rucksack, both of which are removable. Each figure will be available with costumes in 5 colors, identical to those worn by the original, and also as a special set of 5.” Read the rest of this entry »
