News flash from Spanky Stokes ---
A very interesting solicitation email came our way this morning. Not
only was it interesting in what it contained, but it was even more
interesting (to us anyway) about who it was from. "B-KAWZ: APPROPRIATING THE APPROPRIATOR" is a new vinyl figure from Necessaries Toy Foundation
With this new release, they are pretty much doing what artist Kaws
already does... taking a classic character, putting XX's on the eyes as
well as minimal additional sculpted elements, and calling it their own.
Now, Kaws does nothing for us in that sense... not very creative -
although a few of his designs are great - nothing in recent memory is
very original... that's why after seeing this "bootleg" or "tribute" to
Kaws is actually kinda cool.
and...
...uncovered some flashback photos from 2006 in the studio in the back of Meltdown Comics!
xo julie b!
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"Love and Allergies" by Luke Chueh |
Admission is
free!!! If you haven’t had a
chance to check out the show, well then there’s no time like the present!
Specifically this
Saturday: Feb 1st, 2014, our good friend and collaborator, Luke Chueh will be
signing limited edition 7 color silk screen prints of his Cat Art Show Los Angeles piece, "Love and Allergies."
The signing starts at
2:00 pm. And even more good news, you don't have to live in LA to buy them - you can email the Cat Art Show LA to place an order.
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Artist Shepard Fairey, his wife Amanda, and artist Heather Mattoon at the opening night reception. "Radical Cat" by Shepard Fairey. Images courtesy of Cat Art Show Los Angeles |
The show also includes
over 70 other artists, some of whom are Tracey Emin, Gary Baseman, FAILE,
Shepard Fairey and Ray Caesar.
Purrrrty great lineup if you ask me!
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"Morris The Cat" by Jill Greenberg Studio and The Cat Art Show LA Gallery. Images courtesy of Cat Art Show LA |
“All in all, art
featured in Cat Art Show Los Angeles is a contemporary examination of the
psychology, inspiration, and physical impact of cats in our lives.” - catartshowla.com
We love when we see our friends and clients do great things. It's projects like Brian McCarty's War-Toys that make us love what we do. After creating the limited edition toy for his book we continued to keep an eye on the project as it went viral through articles and interviews on CNN, Wired, ABC News, Huffington Post, Hi Fructose, and more.
As a result of Brian's hard work War-Toys is going Global with a touring exhibition starting in 2015:
"I’m very pleased to announce a partnership that will help further the educational goals of the project. Beginning in 2015 and continuing through 2020, the NEA-funded Mid-America Arts Alliance will present a traveling exhibition of War-Toys photographs, drawings, and artifacts curated by Catinca Tabacaru. The exhibition titled War-Toys: Israel, West Bank, Gaza Strip will tour various institutions and museums throughout the US. I’ll keep you posted as dates and venues are solidified over the coming year."
We couldn't be more happy for Brian and everyone involved in this project. We will be sure to announce all of the tour dates once they are released.
Brian McCarty will be at the LA Art Book Fair on Friday, January 31st between 12pm-2pm signing copies of War-Toys: Isreal, West Bank, Gaza Strip at the SCB Distributors' table. The event is free and open to the public so you should stop the by The Geffen at MOCA and congratulate him on his touring exhibition!
Munky King announces the release of the latest colorway of Doktor A's Mr. Pumfrey and his Astounding Mechanised Perambulator. The Winter Waderland colorway features a sleek and minimalist glossy white finish with silver and turquoise accents.
This wonderful character is the concoction of monster mastermind Doktor A and produced by the fabulous folks over at Munky King. Mr. Pumfrey stands 8 inches tall and is removable from his perambulating base, which features clear lenses housing it's gears as well as a ton of other delightful gadgetry details. Sculpted by Dave Pressler and Pretty in Plastic!
For our special Art Basel project this year we hooked up with our awesome and talented friend Brandon Koppel and ST.ART Initiative.
ST.ART Initiative is a consumer electronics company specializing in exclusive wearable art by creatively utilizing limited run artist designed works from the most talented artists and brands in the world. Partial proceeds of each limited run artist/brand designed case will be donated to charity.
The Installation was part of their launch at Basel along with an extremely limited line of iphone cases. Their first run consisted of cases from Greg Mike, L'Amour Supreme, Nosego, Madsteez and The Overthrow. You can purchase on http://startinitiative.com/shop/.
We executed this mega iPhone with digital renderings, CNC milling, hand sculpting and fine finishing work for a pristine paintable surface. (Peep some process shots below!)
The Basel Castle event was blowing up and Buff was able to get enough painting in before the rain started, but no worries... he finished up the next day.
The finished piece just arrived back to our shop for a high gloss coating and will be for sale!! Stay tuned...
Thanks again to Brandon, Joe, Nils, Rooster, Buff Monster, and everyone involved. We can't wait to work on future projects.
Nils, Julie B., Brandon, Joe
...and some behind the scene process shots...
...ready to ship to Basel!
Pink Ranger was a hit!
The Power Rangers 20th Anniversary art exhibition and pop-up shop took place this past weekend at Toy Art Gallery in Los Angeles. Curated by Sweet Streets, the Power Rangers exhibition, 20 Rangers for 20 Years, highlighted popular artists and designers from around the world and their one-of-a-kind painted 31” Ranger statues.
We were honored to have our "Pink Rager" in the center of it all.
Julie B. worked hard sculpting the Pretty in Plastic contribution by modifying and manipulating the boy ranger into the final diva we presented.
The whole Pretty In Plastic Crew went to represent at the opening last Saturday since Julie B. was at Art Basel. We were honored to be among a roster of other AMAZING friends and artists. Thank you to TAG, Sweet Streets, and The Power Rangers!
Pretty in Plastic Team
Behind the Scenes Action...
Maybe we'll see more of the Pink Ranger in the future??? ;)
I am sure you all know about Art Basel Miami Beach took place this past weekend from December 5th - 8th. With over 250 galleries, 50,000 visitors, and amazing weather - it's no wonder why this event has become the premier destination for art lovers. Instagram was flooded with pics of artwork, installations, and parties.
Julie B roamed the streets of Miami discovering the best that Art Basel had to offer and here are our official picks:
FriendsWithYou installation at the Mandarin was amazing - especially with the pimped out ice cream truck
Jona Cerwinske live painting a car
Sculptures by Patricia Piccinini
Easter Egg by Jeff Koons
A nice little Banksy spoof...
More Highlights...
Benjamin Alejandro...
Desire Obtain Cherish...
Rabi from Cyrcle and Desire Obtain Cherish
Thanks Miami:)
Pretty In Plastic Inc. is located in Downtown Los Angeles. We are toy couture and do everything from design...sculpt...prototype...limited art runs...to manufacturing...from small scale to large! -Julie B.