Mark is a celebrity!!! The first recorded and blogged about incident of a "fan" tired of the long lines and short supply for Japanese vinyl!!
"Urban Vinyl" huh? I don't think I've ever seen that phrase used on this board. I'm leaving that part up, the rest of my angry rant went away once I got some caffine. CONGRATS MARK!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, 2 hours later and I'm a lot less angry and laughing a lot more. I'm just an angry person pre-coffee, my wife yells at me all the time about it
i don't think any of you guys noticed that he's a S7 contributor as well, I thought I recognized his name.
Matt Alt is one of the founders and contributors of ToyboxDX, which contains the internet's single best English language vintage Japanese toy databases. He is O to the G. And in the context of the world of those collectors, things like Secret Base, RXH etc. are totally seen as 'Urban Vinyls'. That's just how it is...
Despite the frustrations most of us share, I don't sense a backlash swelling among neo kaiju collectors. Maybe I'm wrong though, not having been at this as long as many. living dead's ire about the Gargamel fiasco seemed well-justified (although many of us admire the advantages that people in Japan have in general.) I guess the basic question is, is it a good thing that editions are so limited, or would it be better for all if production numbers were higher? I guess individual answers would be contingent on how much people enjoy (or not) "the hunt," and for some how much they value exclusivity. I normally think of the "urban vinyl" label as describing the fallout of Michael Lau's innovations, and more stereotypically, of the sorts of now-clichéd conventions (bunny with bloody knife, bear in hip hop clothes with bling, you-name-it with cigarette and "x" eyes ad naseum) that this board tends to characterize as "KR" regardless of whether or not that company actually makes them. Kaiju has its roots in the 1960s, arguably the 50s. Urban Vinyl was born the 80s but didn't catch fire until the 90s.
I take issue with this statement: "The numbers are critical to convincing consumers that they aren't buying 'toys' (perish the thought) but rather limited-edition 'art' worth spending all day in a line to pick up." I don't think anyone here is under the impression that these are pieces of art rather than toys. In fact, I believe that a lot of us were turned off by this facet of Western Vinyl. The line blurring of art/toy was fine at first when it was artists that were creating the WV. But once companies and non-artists took over, and still insisted on the "art toy" label, the thought of those pieces being considered art was nauseating. They were toys, and poorly contrived toys at that. So a jump was made to something that was considered to be more pure - Japanse vinyl. Sure, they're made for adults. Sure, the limited nature is largely what drives it. And the sculptors/creators are highly artistic people. But despite the beauty we see in these "cute monsters", no one (I hope) is under the impression that these are pieces of art.
So you're telling me that no owners out there, of Pushead HPs, consider those art? I find that hard to believe. Even Machinder collectors see their toys as "art" (to an extent). Alot of hard to get diecast is viewed the same way. The only difference is that with the vintage stuff, the "art" factor comes with age, but with newer stuff it has "art" characterisitcs from the beginning.
Here's my view on the art thing. They're toys first, no matter what. But they can be toys AND art. I don't view them as art alone. I mean, to me, the point of these are to be fun toys, not "art" even though they kind of BECOME art. There's toys that purpose is to BE art, but I don't really think of Real Head or Anraku or Gargamel or most other compaines we're into around here as having that attitude. It seems like they make them to be fun. I mean, they surely don't expect us to pick them up, slam them together and play, but they do (I think) expect us to have some sort of fun (taking pix, dif. displays with them etc.) with them. Not just for looking. Also they kinda of bring back some sort of memory, echoed from a multitude of dif. inspirations. That make sense to anyone but me? Geeze, I didn't mean for it to be that long, sorry.
Well, I was speaking about regular release toys - SB, RxH, Gargamel, etc - as this seemed to be the main thrust of the blog entry. And do people really consider vintage toys "art"? Or do they see them as having artistic merit? I think these are two very different things. Vintage objects have high artistic merit - that's why they're considered vintage...otherwise they'd just be old. Cars, furniture, clothing, toys - if designed well these objects become more artful over time as their designs stand the test of time. They are enjoyed because of their artistic merit. But they weren't created as art. And perhaps people consider HP Pushead toys to be art. Personally, I don't. I like them, and enjoy the artistry in them, but don't consider them to be art in and of themselves. But then I also don't consider music to be art. Again, creative and artistic, but not art. It's music...another branch of creativity, equal to art but different.
I definitely consider my Japanese toys also 3D pieces of art. Yes, they are toys first and foremost, but not toys from Toys R Us. There is a difference. Something like Pushead or the Black Getter Ryoma by Taku Sato transcend being merely a toy.
It's all about peoples peeper (eye of the beholder). == It's up to folks what it is..Art, Toy, assplug whatever. When I design my toy I inject artistic imput. I don't pass it off as art but if that's what floats yer boat cool. I'd be happy if I see my toy taken out and played with
I think "toys with artistic merrit" actually sums up my opinion pretty well on this, pardon and ignore my long winded crap above. Anyway, what was the point of the blog? I forgot and don't wanna re-read. J-Toy makers should make bigger numbers? We're nuts for spending this kind of money on these?
The only thing this article proves is a lot of vintage collectors don't know shit about the new stuff or the people who collect it. His journalism is a darker shade of yellow than his crusty old clear toys. Grumpy old vintage collectors are always good for a laugh.
