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Mon, Jan 19, 2009
Yosiell Lorenzo (aka Project Detonate) first got in touch with ToyCyte about his Crooked Ways custom show in October 2008. His seamless painting style and cute, but corrupt, characters made me an instant fan. After experimenting with hands-on art forms versus sitting behind a computer all day long, Yosiell quickly fell in love with painting. As a result, Project Detonate has taken on a life of its own. With diverse artistic influences ranging from horror movies and Mist UK to Japanese pop art and video games, toy collectors and graphic artists alike are bound to connect with Project Detonate. Yosiell has several upcoming shows (see interview below). You can keep tabs on his work at Project Detonate’s Flickr page and MySpace. He offers a range of affordable prints, toys, stickers and shirts through his webshop. You can also find one-off art pieces from his recent Weapons of Mass Construction show for sale here. But if you want to get your hands on an awesome original hand-sprayed and painted Munny complete with matching print, you’ll need to enter…
OK, prepare to get creative and channel your inner shaman. Yosiell has asked ToyCyte’s clever readers to come up with a cure for Para-host’s worm troubles. Para-host is the character you’re playing for. We’re looking for name, ingredients and/or regimen to cure this parasitic problem by Sunday, February 1st at 12 noon PST. We will announce the winning entry shortly before the next custoMONDAY on 2/2. Good luck!
OK first question, gotta get this one out of the way, what is the correct pronunciation of your first name?
Haha oh man, my name gets butchered all the time. Phonetically it’s Joe-Z-L. My mom actually made the name up right before birth..she knew I was going to be special haha!
What’s the art scene like in Connecticut?
Connecticut’s art scene is pretty solid. Where I live (New Haven) has a huge population of artists, musicians and writers. Once a year we have this event called the Festival of Arts and Ideas which includes block parties with tons of live bands and live art, it’s pretty ill. We also have gallery/shops like Channel One and David Apuzzo Gallery that cater more to the lowbrow art scene which is a huge help. Even though New Haven is awesome for art, there are not too many places to show this kind of art. NYC is close by, so some of that filters over here into Connecticut as well. All and all not too bad.
What tools do you use in your work?
When painting, I tend to paint on wood. My friend Matt Sharp turned me onto wood, and ever since then I never went back, so I rarely do canvas anymore. For paints, I use anything from Golden acrylics to heavy body Liquitex and always outline with ivory black system 3 acrylic. For some reason, that brand of black just flows like water and it’s still opaque. [As for] virtual [tools], Adobe Illustrator and my Wacom Intuos 3 tablet, and I’m good to go. I always start off with a sketch, scan it and then straight to Illustrator.
Tell us a bit about the story of your custoMONDAY piece.
Well the Worms have been a reoccurring theme in my paintings and the para-host was actually my first big painting that I did on canvas. I really liked this creature a lot so I figured I’d do a revised version of this bad boy, but as a 11×14 digital print instead. I’ve always been a big fan of print and toy sets so I figured why not do a munny version of Para-host and give that away along with a print. The munny is done with spray paint and acrylics topped off with a glossy clear coat.
Your characters are really cute! But in many of them, if you look closely, there’s something a little amiss–maybe a shadow bearing down on them or what I thought was initially a smile is actually a grimace.
It’s funny, when I first started painting I wasn’t aware that I was doing that, it was more of a subconscious thing. I guess it all goes back to that cliche saying “never judge a book by its cover.” I believe that there is always more to what you see and that’s with everything…buildings, people, everything! And I think that is starting to show in my work more and more. The cuteness I use as a method to reel in the observer and then hopefully the focus will move on to the underlying theme or cryptic message being portrayed in the painting.
You’ve done a variety of custom toys (most recently the MUTT). Do you have a favorite platform to work on and/or a favorite piece?
Working on the MUTT was awesome! But since I’m really into working on wood lately, I’d have to say that the Illzilla was one of my favorites right now. The fact that I could stain and then distress the edges for that gritty look won me over. I’m definitely on the lookout for more wooden toy platforms.
Do you collect toys?
Not as much I as did when I first discovered the whole vinyl toy scene. Now I mainly just pick and choose what I want. I want to get into collecting one of a kind vinyl figures versus the limited runs, but even that can get pricey as well.
Many people consider KAWS as having the market on painting characters over photos, but I am really excited by your collab with David Apuzzo. When is it and what is it about?
Ah, well the tentative date for that show was early April, but David and I are super busy and it seems that we haven’t found time to get together and plan the show out. David Apuzzo approached me at a show one day and asked me if I would like to collab with him. His idea was to re-enact fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Little Miss Mofat using live models, and then I would go in and do my renditions of the characters that went along with the story. I immediately said yes! This would give me a chance to do more digital work and break away from the paintings and customs I have been doing. As to when it’s happening, that’s up in the air right now. Is it going to happen? Hells yeah! Just keep checking my site for more details.
What’s coming up for Project Detonate?
I have loads of groups shows coming up, a 3-person show with Matthew Ryan Sharp and Betso over at Pink Ghost this summer, a solo show at the end of this year, random customs that I will drop from time to time, and world domination with my right hand man Matt Sharp!
Matthew Ryan Sharp and Project Detonate
Jeremy Brautman - who has written 1965 posts on ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected.
Jeremy Brautman joined ToyCyte in 2008 and has been writing about toy culture ever since. You can currently find him contributing to a variety of blogs, artkiving doodles at Doodlesplatter.com and cataloging artistic ephemera at ARTkivers.com.
January 19th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
This was a huge help back in college-
http://www.nixlice.com/
January 19th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Isn’t there a particularly awful urban legend involving a tapeworm and a bowl of milk?
January 19th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
The cure involves a 5 day fast where only large amounts of fenbendazole should be consumed. when the worms start pouring out of his butt, then he should bathe them in praziquantal to prevent reproduction. This is an old family recipe we call The Worm Shitz…Don’t try this without a witch doctor’s supervision.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
We all know the awesome plumbing, princess saving abilities of Mario but sometimes his green dinosaur doesn’t get enough love. So Yoshi decided to go into business on his own using his innate skills. He wasn’t going to carry around fatties anymore!
Yoshi is a kind Dino and wanted to help other creatures in a way other couldn’t: parasite removal. It was going to be a dirty job, but he knew he had the powers to do it. His technique is flawless.
Dr. Yoshi set the patient on a clean, disinfected hospital table and has the patient put their feet/paws/tentacles in the stirups while laying on their back. After the patient is relaxed Yoshi determines where the parasite is hiding inside the host with ultrasound tools. Once the evil parasite is located, Yoshi prepares himself and aims. With the awesome speed and force, Yoshi’s tongue shoots into the host. Yoshi aims very accurately when it comes to naughty parasites and in one shift movement, removes the micro sized creature. The patient is cured and gets a lollipop to help with their mental and emotional trauma. Yoshi scrubs his tongue shortly after.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
“The early bird catches the worm” has been a great English proverb, to our knowledge, as far back as the 17th century. First recorded in John Ray’s “A collection of English Proverbs,” it is unsure and much speculated how this term arose.
Many people interpret this phrase incorrectly also, believing that it refers to waking up early to get something done.
The term actually arose in the early 16th century in Europe, during a devestating worm outbreak. However, it was not devestating in the way that people died, it was devestating in the manner that once you were infected with the worm you were rendered completely useless. Most of those infected would actually attempt to slide around on the ground as a worm would, munching on the Earth itself. In some worse cases people had actually turned into worms, but these were only the people that were left untreated. However, a good number of people did die after burrowing into the ground and suffocating.
It is unknown as to how the worm infection had begun, and to this day it still occasionally happens, but the mysterious remedy has since been forgotten.
It was not until the arrival of an unknown gentleman, who we will call Joe, that the Europeans even knew of a cure. Joe was a pharmacist whom had heard of the troubles that were brewing with the worm infestation. After his arrival, and after much trial and error, a cure was actually discovered.
Cashing in on his discovery Joe opened a shop, plastering posters around the city that read “The Early Bird Gets The Worm! 15 Pennies will have that worm wiggled out in no time!”
The cure only had one downfall, it was a bit pricey as it had to pay for Worm-eating Warblers to be shipped over from North America.
Once the 2 pennies had been paid, the infected were handed a bird cage containing the warbler, and an attached note which read:
DOCTOR’S ORDERS:
Swallow ONE LIVE WARBLER at approximately 6:30 A.M.
15 minutes AFTER consumption, proceed to stand on head for 10 minutes to allow the bird to take effect and for worms to gather in one spot.
Once done, REMAIN STILL for 4 hours.
If problem persists, double the number of warblers.
It is unknown what actually happened between the time that the bird was swallowed and the worms were gone. The procedure was a bit tricky however, most people had problems with remaining still for 4 hours so they were often strapped to a chair. People in the later stages of infestation required much help in completing the remedy.
“The Early Bird Catches the Worm” was actually a reference to the time that the remedy has to be preformed, as it was absolutely vital that it was performed around 6:30 A.M. It is unknown as to why.
The remedy later acquired the name “Warbler’s Woe” in reference to the sacrifice of the bird.
Warbler’s Woe has since been forgotten, but the phrase that was so widespread throughout the area at the time however was not.
THE EARLY BIRD CATCHES THE WORM
January 19th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
^^^
It was supposed to read “Once the 15 pennies had been paid”
Thanks :B
January 20th, 2009 at 9:52 am
the “cure” is obvious. Go to nearest toxic waste dump and ingest up to 4 tablespoons of toxic sludge. Immediately you should begin to feel the effects of soothing mutation. You may want to take a quick stroll through your nearest nuclear reactor to speed up the process. Within the week your skin should start feeling quite dry in your normal environment and you may notice the craving for dirt. It is important at this time to begin applying lots of moisturizing cream and begin work on building your dank, damp secret underground layer. DO NOT worry about a costume yet as you could possibly be adding another slimy tentacle or head in the near future. After a month has passed you should have reached full mutation and both pesky parasitic worm cells and your own should have melded you into quite the stunning specimen. Hopefully your new dirt grinding Maw you have has helped tunnel out your new secret layer and you can begin thinking of a costume and new name supervillian name because everyone knows being a super hero is for suckers. Once these steps have been procured it is time to take over the world with your awesome tunneling and sliming abilities. Go get em tiger!
January 20th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
i dont know what all you guys are writing these long !@#% cures about, but mine is easy and simple. just get a bird to eat the worm
January 21st, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Good ol’ Windex.
Clean and Simple.
January 21st, 2009 at 6:44 pm
“Mooch Off” – from the makers of “Goof Off”
“Everybody mooches off others sometimes – which is why every home, hospital and workplace should have Mooch Off, the innovative parasecticide.
It removes the parasites that ordinary methods can’t. You’ll be amazed at how fast, easy and
powerfully it works to remove every kind of parasite whether they are disgusting worms, shady roommates, or ex-wives. “Mooch Off” is the solution to irritating, thieving and potentially dangerous parasite problems.
Goof Off – the ultimate remover for the toughest messes.”
Mooch Off ;]
January 21st, 2009 at 10:37 pm
……the answer is SEVEN.
wait….what was the question again?
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:51 am
A piece of bread on a string and a rubber mallet! Everyone loves “Whack a Worm!”
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
While I may not be entering (I’ll leave that to the die-hard collectors ;3), it’s always nice to see work by other CT artists. Keep it up!
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
The cure is a lot simpler than most would think.
You will need:
a dark room
some chinese take out
ear plugs
a loud stereo system
a Britney Spears album
Directions:
Bring Para-Host into a dark room and surround him in chinese take out. The parasites are attracted to the smell of chinese take out. Watch carefully, when the parasites expose themselves switch on the lights and blast some Britney Spears through a lound stereo system. (Ear plugs are recommended for yourself) Upon hearing the music you will see the parasites start to squirm violently and start to melt, much like the effects of salt on a slug. Dispense of the parasites by flushing them down the toilet. Make sure Para-Host is ok. This could be a very tramatic experience for him.
January 24th, 2009 at 1:04 am
I’m sorry to say that there is no cure for this sort of illness. Just put the Munny in your oven, let it melt and then send it to the winner of the contest (could be funny
).
January 25th, 2009 at 10:50 am
Worms are really easy to cure just tell Para-Host to drink nothing but water, and eat nothing. The worms will die of starvation, and be flushed out in his pee. Pretty fun way to get rid of parasites if you ask me, once they come out of your body you’ll feel so relieved….. No I have never had worms…. *shifty eyes*
January 25th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
First of all let me say that the following is fiction, I don’t want some company coming after me for libel or whatever:
So, basically there is one EASY cure for this problem, it comes in the form of a little yellow pill (name withheld) developed my a mega billion dollar a year pharmaceutical company (name withheld). the pill is essentially a strong biological toxin that kills worms and other parasites upon ingestion… unfortunately, the major side effect of the product is that the host is ultimately also killed. there is a class action lawsuit currently pending.
Luckily (or unluckily), there is ONLY one other cure for this problem. It includes an intensive procedure with a product known only as “the pick”. The reason it’s called the pick is because it’s essentially a huge 3 pronged hook that is inserted into the… well you know where… and is used to manually extract the worms one-by-one! You can also feel this “pick” picking apart your insides! The pick grabs the worms and pulls them out through your ass, it has to be done slowly so the worms don’t break in half. If they break in half they are regenerated into two separate worms which will each have to be extracted individually. Well, after the worms are gone viola(!), you are cured, assuming you don’t die from internal bleeding of course….
January 25th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Too many times in life we view our differences as problems or downfalls. Who’s to say that this “worm” isn’t simply looking for acceptance as well. I say the only cure for Para-host is to get in touch with his true self value, embrace the worm and start getting to know this little fellow who shares his life. Who knows, maybe they’ll become best friends. I recommend a super large pizza, 12 pack of Sundrop and the complete Die Hard collection (minus the last one). These guys will be bonding in no time.
Otherwise Para-Host could just take off the hat.
January 26th, 2009 at 4:24 am
When all else fails, the cure for Para-host’s worm troubles can be found deep within the ancient Shaolin Temple. Legend has it, that it is within these temple’s walls that a most extraordinary bottle of tequila can be found, which contains the deadliest of all worms, Qiu Yin. Trained by The Grandmaster, Qiu Yin is highly skilled in all kung fu styles including the crane, monkey, praying mantis, snake, dragon, as well as the forbidden White Eyebrow kung fu style. Have Para-host take one shot of this mystical tequila containing Qiu Yin. While in Para-host’s digestive system, Qiu Yin will unleash his fury and bust out a can of whoop ass on each an every sleazy parasitic worm in there making them rue the day they were born.
January 26th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Why are we curing the worms from Para-host? Shouldn’t we be curing Para-host from the worms?
January 26th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
My local witch doctor seemed to think the cure simple. A jellyfish dance to sting the worms out. Having always found these people to be wrong I went to my local scientist. He assured me that the following would work…..
1)Drink one bottle of Drano
2)Chase with a premium whiskey (costing forty five dollars or more a bottle)
3)Eat eighteen habereno peppers in a row in under three minutes
4)Drink whiskey as needed for relief
5)Pray to whomever (depends on comfort level) that the outcome isn’t worse than the worms.
6)repeat as needed.
January 28th, 2009 at 3:14 am
I would feed him at least 2 helpings of Jolibee Spaghetti. That will kill anything!
January 28th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Lumpy Mash Potato.
First make your mash – 6 potatoes, milk, butter and a sprinkle of salt. Make sure not to mash too hard.
Consume all YOUR mash and wait for the worms to become slow and sluggish with their bellies full of lumpy mash. If you are lucky you will have lactose intolerant worms.
The butter will “lubricate” the way out and before the mash induced coma wears off the little fellows they will be out and Para-Host will be just fine, if not a little lonely from the loss of his companions.
January 28th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Ahhh. Yet another case of parasitic takeover. *tsk tsk*
Good thing I know the perfect cure! It’s called a patsy. You see, this is a cutting edge, dog eat dog world we live in, and you have to stay ahead, whether that means hurting others or not. And to fix a bad case of the parasites, you need a good fall guy. First off, there are a few things that you’ll need:
A patsy (the dumber, the better)
A large plunger (although a decent spoon may work)
A distraction (depending on your patsy, of course)
First, you need to set up the ritual, according to my witch-doctor training. IT’s a fairly simple procedure, just lure your patsy into a public area that’s usually empty, like a library. Then, you need a distraction. This could be as simple as a butterfly flittering by, or as complicated as a brainteaser (unsolvable if your plunging skills aren’t very refined). Now, while your fall man isn’t looking, whip out the plunger. Go to town on your head (or any other parasite infested location) until the parasites are sucked right on out. This is the tricky part. Now, you gotta get the parasites to take to the patsy! I suggest some sort of snack that they enjoy (What do ya mean ya don’t know what they like? You’ve lived with ‘em for a while now, haven’t ya?) place near your bait to get them to take to him. Now, you run. Congratulations, Mr. Parasite-Free!
February 1st, 2009 at 11:38 am
Fortunately for Senor Para-host, the parasites are not interested in him at all. They’re just as dismayed with his sordid flesh as Para is with their parasitic existence. This situation occurred due to an honest mistake. The worms just wanted out of their hell hole in Arizona and saw an opportunity to see the world when they saw the glorious wings of Senor Para-host. However, they inadvertently caused their winged vessel to gain an obscene amount of weight! Now Senor is stuck, earth-bound, in pain and woe, unable to navigate his now frequently used bathroom, much less the globe. The confused worms are simply waiting for a change in scenery.
CURE: Bring the worms to Vegas and party like it’s 1999.
They’re sure to become addicted to gambling or at least find a few floosies to infect.
If it turns out the worms are epitomes of morality:
CURE 2: Senor Para-host can also wine and dine the worms and suck them into a spiraling path of destruction called a relationship. They’ll get too parasitic for comfort. One night while Senor is sleeping they’ll pack what little accoutrements they have, slink out the backdoor with tears in their eyes, and say goodbye to the only good life they knew. But as they leave, they know. They know Senor is and will always be too good for them.
“We will always love you Senor!” said their note on the front of his door.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:53 am
Drumroll please…Per Project Detonate: “I’m a fan of old school kung-fu flicks: the story of the kung fu fighting tequilla worm Qui-Yin had me cracking up.” So the Para-host Munny and print set go to…JoeAlmighty!
Never fear though…if you’re not Joe, we’ve got another custoMONDAY you’re going to LOVE coming at you in just about 2 hours!