Maybe Kaws will release a Mario with a skull/crossbones head next =P

i would totally buy that

Save your pennies for the bronzies coming out "most likely" at the 1 yr. anniversary of OF. $3-5k will score you one of these uber-limited sculptures. The last time KAWS did a similar release was for the 13 Astroboys at the BAPE Gallery. There will be even fewer pieces in number, but a wider "variety" of sculpts....should be pretty tremendous.

$3-5k + some connections....or at least I would think...
Aren't these going to be extremely limited?

if u are into hyping stuff why not just go over to kr board?

alifeinboys - I know you're pretty much an outright enemy of mine (of which I have very few), so I take you're comments with both disregard and disdain. I'm doing the opposite of hyping, which is precisely why I am not writing about this on the KR board. I know some people here are fans and would love to have the opportunity to own one of these pieces, so I even give the best info on the date of release that I have. This has never been discussed anywhere. You are just a cry-baby with nothing to say but shit. What's your contribution but to attack? Bullshit every time...

Because I respect the cats on this board, I came here to start this thread about the surprise original dissected drop: http://www.skullbrain.org/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5911 - I make a contribution, not spread hate or bullshit.

I have noticed in the past that he is a bit of a 'hater'.

anyone know why?

No offense intended, but instead of asking us to speculate, why not go straight to the source? I think that approach would be less likely to derail the thread.

ok back to kaws..wopuld you rather have a resin astrokaws or a bronze dissecrted?

That's the million-dollar question!! For me, very tough call. But at least we can consider the possibility of the dissected bronzie and gear up for the quest...there is "most likely" going to be a bronze Accomplice (which he gave us a peek of in his blog a while back) that will certainly divide some folks as well. I know I would not go for both...tough, tough decision. If I had a choice - blue Astroboy as my #1 selection.

hmm..the accomplicr is pretty cool...I think id opt for a bronze dissected. they astrokawses where cool, but since they were not like a production piece...somehow a bronze of a production piece seems more titillating.

that's an interesting perspective...good point, indeed, Frank...

our best clue as to the packaging for the bronze dissected - hand-stenciled boxes:

certainly the cat-teeth bank is pretty lame in comparison - totally different universe.

yeah.. while i do collect original art...(paintings) since, for me the kaws stuff is sort of 'pop multiple/art toy' in my mind anyway...a sort of 'extreme' multiple homage to an existing commercial piece is more 'important'. I dont find his 'original' work ( the paintings) very interesting, but the 'multiple' production pieces really have that 'classic' pop art multiple vibe for me.

like..hoa can i explaon it..anyone can make a 'cool' 1-off..but a 'cool' multiple is like a different realm.

does that make any sense? the 'consumer' aspect of it is what sort of drives it (for me) into some truly 'POPulist' area...that is really interesting.

I never thought about it that way. I tend to agree, digesting what you're saying. Seems a 'multiple' is much tougher to nail. A painting only needs one fan at a time, but an edition of 500 needs to be a lot more compelling. Interesting...

its like the Warholian thing..if he had made 1 Tide box-big whoop..but a whole pile of them..that was like..WHOA wait aminute.

the better 'toys' in this scene to me are like that.

force multiplier.

also..are you familiar with the 'po art supermart' show in 1962? a group of artist
set up a fake deli and stocked it with an array of fake 'products'...like cartons of milk etc u could buy. It was a sort of failure at he time, but I see it as the original 'urban vinyl/sculpture' event.

Sounds inspired!! Thanks very much for mentioning it, Frank. I will research it to learn more about it and maybe find some pics...

meanwhile, I found a phenomenal page about the 'movement' - this is a fascinating excerpt:

A one-of-a-kind exhibition, The Great American Pop Art Store features wonderful, wacky, Pop Art "multiples" created in the Sixties (predominantly from 1965-1969) with the hope of making new art accessible to a broader public. While the "multiple" was perceived as an art form that would "sell," and consequently find its way into the homes of many instead of just a few select galleries, it was also looked upon by many artists as an art form that allowed for experimentation with industrial art-making techniques (industrial technologies such as vacuum-forming, welding, and chrome-plating were widely available in Post-War America). Some artists found the "multiple" to be especially conducive to cultural or political commentary as well.

Mass fabrication of an object or work helps to identify it as a multiple. Multiples are not intended to exist as one-of-a-kind works of art, but rather as editions - in unlimited or predetermined quantities - of an original. When an "original" model for a planned multiple was created, that piece was never considered more than just a pattern for the reproductions that followed. With multiples, each copy is equal in value to every other copy - and equal in value to the pattern piece.

While the idea of multiples is not new to this century, Marcel Duchamp is considered the father of the modern multiple. In 1913, he demonstrated the way in which everyday objects could become art when he put a bicycle wheel and a stool together and called it The Bicycle Wheel (a work he then reproduced three times). This, and other examples of Duchamp's "Readymade" art, demonstrated the way in which common objects became art when reordered. For Duchamp, art was not the objects themselves but rather the ideas behind their arrangement. His duplication of The Bicycle Wheel also made his point that "multiple" art objects possess equal value in relation to one another. In line with Duchamp's thinking, other European artists tended to create similar, highly-conceptual multiples, with the idea behind the object considered vastly more important than the object itself.

In late 1950s, the stage was set for the rise of the American Pop Art multiple, differing from the European multiple in its open, playful, and participatory style. Young new artists began to turn to the country's cultural environment for artistic inspiration, and they were heavily influenced by the strong presence of the media. Billboards, cartoons, comic books, and newspaper and magazine advertisements were everywhere, and clearly influenced the styles and work of Pop artists, as did the country's renewed interest in the art of printmaking. American Pop Art objects also feature everday images and icons of the time - a noted example is Andy Warhol's use of images of Marilyn Monroe.

The Pop Art "revolution" began in America in 1958, with Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns and their debut shows at the new Castelli Gallery in Manhattan. Larry Rivers, Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, and George Segal had all shown their work in New York galleries, but none were Pop Artists yet. Jim Dine, Tom Wesselmann, Claes Oldenburg, and Jim Rosenquist were all just arriving in New York from the Midwest. As art and everyday life began to intermingle more and more, these artists became intrigued by this Pop lifestyle with its highly-social installations and "Happenings" and its emphasis on consumer culture.

Link to the page: http://www.tfaoi.com/newsm1/n1m651.htm

Fucking great stuff.

Bronze, no question. Though I'm thinking I would rather have the Bronze Accomplice than the Bronze Disected. The Accomplice vinyl figure never really appealed to me, but from what I saw I liked the Bronze version.
Any other Bronze editions coming out? I'm just hoping against hope that somehow I'll be able to have a crack at one of these...

Great question - I've heard dissected companion and accomplice for sure, but I've heard a whisper about a dissected accomplice... time will tell, but I do think these will drop in May for the anniversary of OF (seems like the timing is appropriately opportune). Info I have is edition of 10 each...all this can change, but KAWS has given us good clues that a drop of some sort will indeed happen...Like you, I'm hoping they are not all pre-sold or something.

yes,exactly Oldenburgs 'store'. How friggin cool.

I see the current 'toy' scene as a successful variation of that 60's pop ethos, and hence, consider way more important than say...'beanie babies'. commerical crossovers ( Bape, Pepsi) make it even cooler somehow.

multiples rule.

who's tghe guy that recently made those pieces that where like bundles of money? those rule..and if that Filth guy ever releases those big vinyl guns..that will rule.

not neo-kaiju...but so rad.

neo-kaiju itself is intereting on multiple levels...is it the allure of the exotic? is it nostalgia? is it just visceral appeal of the grotesque and colorful?

Wow, this thread has really exploded. Thanks Pirovino and Frank for the perspectives. I've often thought of my fascination with toys as taking part in their collective power.

The thought of the multiple vs. the original really intrigues me because I really enjoy collecting original art. The art toys really do appeal to me in that multiples kind of way. I like knowing there are others out there with similar tastes, but no one has my exact collection.

I think all three come in to play to different degrees for different collectors. Sometimes I have a hard time separating "neo kaiju" from plain old "kaiju" as some of the companies doing the stuff that gets called "neo" are the same ones that have been producing kaiju since the OG/vintage/oldskool days. It seems "made in Japan or not" is the principle dividing line for most.

To my mind, the "Kaiju for Grown Ups" series is clearly "neo" as the artists are generally not Japanese, are associated with the Western "art toy" scene, and are consciously reinterpreting an existing genre. It's sort of like postmodernism or "revival" art.

It gets blurrier for me in the case of, say, Secret Base, whom I think of as a self-created niche unconnected to Japanese cinema or the Western art toy aesthetic. Same with Cronic, Blobpus, etc. I can live with those companies/artists being "neo," but to me, it's all just kaiju.

Without nostalgia, neo-Kaiju wouldn't exist IMO. I played with kaiju as a little boy 'cause I liked monsters and Japanese movies and had access to the toys via stores at SF's Japan Center. By no means was it an "art" or "collector" thing. However, as an adult, I buy similar (better made IMO) kaiju consciously as a collector. Nostalgia is definitely a component of the joy of collecting, although ultimately it's about the objects themselves and how I respond to them. I never had a Chicken Fever toy as a boy, but my delight in it now makes me feel like a kid in all the best ways.

Although kaiju has had some familiarity to me all my life, some of my favorite is the stuff that just wouldn't naturally occur to me to think of making a into a toy ... the bizarre blobs that make you think "just what IS that?" when you first see them, the really kitschy stuff, the unlikely things like food or household objects made into monsters. So, I suppose the "only a Japanese artist would think of this" aspect could be the "exotic" allure.

What's the appeal for you, Frank?

Sorry if I drifted too far from KAWS.

I like Kaiju/neo kaiju because its just plain weird. I like monsters...and the Japanese variety seems wirder, because I didnt grow up with it. Its a bit alien.

I personally dont watch the old shows or movies ( except i saw a lot of ultraman in my stoner days on some weird tv channel) and care not a fig for say..Godzilla..I like the goofier critters, like kanegon and all the 'new stuff' to me, is a great mix of monster plus goofy.

si i suppose i like it for all the wrog reasons.

I use to collect old Bandai diecast just because I had never seen such amazingly made toys. that stff they put out in the late 70's-thru the 80's was just insane.

Bill McMullen 100 x 100 x 100 = One Million . . . outstanding concept, I dunno how many pieces got sold at $100 a pop!

I honestly don't think there's any such thing as the wrong reasons to like this stuff.

If it speaks to you in some way, that's good enough.

Someone asked me to explain the appeal of Blobpus stuff recently. He likes kaiju, but not theirs. I basically tangled myself up in knots trying to explain, sputtering stuff about Cthulhu and Hedorah along the way ... the "message" ended up being something like "it's attractive because it's repellant" LOL. Last time I try to over-intellectualize it!