heh. Steve is gonna kill me...
Steve & I got into a contentious discussion last night regarding whether the toys McF makes are "art". While I was playing devil's advocate yesterday I would like to state this:
Yes, absolutely, the figures McF makes are art, under every definition of the word. That said, they are also toys. The creation process, materials used, as well as the lisencing and marketing involved in the process makes them toys first and foremost, with the art aspect of these objects coming in a close second.
I don't hate art (far from it), nor any of the product that McF makes, but the product McFarlane Toys puts out onto the marketplace is...toys. That is how these objects are classified & consumed.
Continue to bludgeon me with your sledgehammer, Mr. Victim [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Absolutely.Can toys be art?
Not ALL toys are art, but I would regard McFarlane's stuff as art, in the realm of "posable statues," so to speak.
I think the term "art" better applies to custom figures, where the action figure is a medium someone works in. They can be painted, sculpted on, Dremel-ed (a form of subtractive sculpture), etc.
It's art that can be played with, but art nonetheless.
The original toy, box etc. is art......
The rest is reproduced art~
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">heh. that's what steve said...Originally posted by Street Worm:
The original toy, box etc. is art......
The rest is reproduced art~
My opinion is that they simply aren't toys.
I doubt many people take their Spawn figs and 'play' with them. Fiddle with them a bit maybe, but not have the characters act out parts. And I doubt there are really many people that have their baseball figs pretend to hit the ball and run to first base.
You open them( or pin them up ), get them set up nicely on the shelf, and go, "Damn that's fucking cool looking." And there it remains, till some new friends come and join it.
You my friend figment are a mental case. [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That's always an option too. [img]tongue.gif[/img]Originally posted by ghostdawgg?:
You my friend figment are a mental case. [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Awww dawgg...Originally posted by ghostdawgg?:
You my friend figment are a mental case. [img]wink.gif[/img]
I didn't know you cared [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]
My mental condiditon should ALWAYS be questioned! [img]smile.gif[/img]
I think it comes down to matter of how and why the pieces are created. In McF's case, I would most definitely say the sculptors are artists who feel they are creating pieces of art. And if the person / people creating a piece say the piece was created as art - regardless of whether the piece in question is an action figure, a door handle, a toothbrush, etc. - then it's not up to someone else to tell them differently.
In my opinion, Todd did with toys what he did with comics - he turned the industry on it's head, gave it a good spin and changed all the rules. He created a new concept in an old industry - sculpted pieces of art with limited articulation. And because of that, I think some people who don't exactly "get" or accept what McF is doing will forever question the methods and ideas behind the figures being created.
I just have to say I'd be pretty damn offended if you walked into my house and tried to tell me to change my cooking.
Just a non articulated thought.
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