Where Toys Are Art, and Art is Toys

WINTER PARK, FL: Remember how cool it was to get a toy? 
 
The surprise when your mom actually let you pick something out at the mall. The joy of seeing the packaging emerge from the shredded wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Even the smell of fresh plastic as you pried open the box and removec the treasure from within. 
 
At exactly what point in the aging process does that stop being acceptable behavior? Well, it doesn’t. And the joy is not just reserved for us geeks. Toys are art, and the art world understands. Clay and canvas are giving way to vinyl and plastic as a new artistic medium. Pop artists and graphic designers have painted their path to pop culture immortality thanks to lines of designer toys. Emerging talents are following established names like Gary Baseman, Joe Ledbetter and Frank Kozik into the designer toy frenzy and everyone is invited to join the fun. Currently, the most popular - and affordable - means to designer toy creation is Munny. 
 
What’s a Munny? 
 
A Munny is a blank vinyl figure that is made to be remade. The bare white, black or glow-in-the-dark toys can be painted, accessorized and morphed into anything. Munny Shows have been held in designer toy shops and art galleries across the country. On July 8th, I had my first taste of the Munny Show experience. 
 
Überbot - our local comic/pop-art emporium - played host to entries by 140 artists, some shipped in from as far away as the UK. Attendance, participation and creativity surpassed the venue's first Munny Show, held in 2005. 
 
The artwork was unreal. Words cannot do justice to what was on exhibit and, thanks to the handy-dandy FieldsEdge photo gallery, they don’t have to. Suffice to say; when you see a giant spider hanging from the ceiling and need a few seconds to realize that it was once a cute, unassuming little Munny, you know there’s some undiscovered talent in your neighborhood. But the kudos are not reserved only for the physically outrageous. Some of the most unbelievable paint jobs I have ever seen were at that show. 
 
Regarding the thought process that went into his entries, local artist Gary Brickel commented, "It's not so much abut what I'm doing, it's what everyone else isn't doing." 
 
Brickel's creation, Wally The Wal-Mart Greeter, took second place in the voting. Third place went to a troll design that J.R.R. Tolkien himself would have appreciated. And first place went to a metal clad warrior titled Mad Munny. Individual pieces of armor, including a hinged helmet, painstakingly crafted by local genius Tony Golden won the admiration of many a fan and artist alike. 
 
Many of the creations, including a little penguin Munny by yours truly, are on sale at the shop and on the web site. Really though, the night wasn’t about awards or sales. As with any art event, it’s about sharing your creativity, conversing with like-minded folks and making new friends. 
 
For more information, and to check out some exceptionally cool stuff, go to http://www.uberbotrocks.com ... but NOT before checking out more FieldsEdge stories and our photo gallery!