ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

ART + ACTION = Obama 08 Custom Toy Show Review

Monday, October 20, 2008

Sucklord and his Obama Jedi were there from the beginning. "What stood out for me was how many people outside of the normal designer toy scene were there and how moved they were by the presentation. I've said it all along, but it seems that the idea is catching on. Toy design is a compelling medium to make a meaningful and nuanced statement."

ART + ACTION = Obama 08 Custom Toy Show TONIGHT!

Friday, October 17, 2008

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The 2008 US Presidential Election will be a historic and groundbreaking event. While the race and gender of the candidates is unprecedented, so is the huge outpouring of art. The latter can be seen tonight in NYC at ToyTokyo's The Showroom where Jailbreak Toys presents an evening of customized Barack Obama action figures by Brin Berliner, Damion Silver, Bigfoot, Denise Despirito, Leecifer, kaNO, Brent Nolasco, Matt Hawkins, Brian Colin, Dionysus Cho, Erick Scarecrow Jeaux Janovsky and more. Regardless of how you lean politically, a show of this nature has never before been attempted. All figures will be for sale with proceeds going to fund the Campaign for Change. You can look back at all the coverage of ART + ACTION = Obama 08 here, or scroll down for our exclusive pictorial. ToyCyte's NYC correspondent will be bringing us coverage of the show, so stay tuned. Tonight's event begins at 7PM EST. There's a rumor that Amber, the Obama Girl, may make an appearance. Wish I could be there.

Brin Berliner for ART + ACTION = Obama 08

Friday, October 17, 2008

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Brin Berliner for ART + ACTION = Obama 08

Brin Berliner should need no introduction in our humble community since undoubtedly you’ve got several of his pieces in your collection. He’s the unnamed force behind figures by MARS-1, Ron English, SEEN, Jermaine Rogers, Frank Kozik, SuperDeux, Gary Baseman and tokidoki, but like a Stewart Copeland to a Sting, Brin is not always a household [...]

Obama Girl Swoops in For a Kiss With Jeaux Janovsky’s Action Figure

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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Obama Girl Swoops in For a Kiss With Jeaux Janovsky’s Action Figure

OK, I’m usually not one to be dramatic, but this is really off-the-hook. Artist and animator Jeaux Janovsky has injected a dose of viral YouTube mayhem into his Obama custom action figure. Amber (more commonly known as The Obama Girl), who calls our next president “B,” plants one on the action figure’s back. With the [...]

Obama in White House Paper Mecha by Matt Hawkins

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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Obama in White House Paper Mecha by Matt Hawkins

The second Obama custom action figure for this morning is also a paper toy from master paper toy crafter, Matt Hawkins. Ironically, this is the first plastic toy that Matt has ever customized, stylizing the action figure and giving him a papercraft White House mecha. You may recall Matt’s previous Barack Obama papercraft, the free, [...]

Reduce Rhetoric Obama Action Figure by Dionysus Cho

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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Reduce Rhetoric Obama Action Figure by Dionysus Cho

So cool. This morning’s Obama custom action figure sneak previews are both paper toys, and this one comes to us from second-year Canadian college student, Dionysus Cho. He threw out all the rhetoric of politics and focused on what matters most: “Not wealth or power. We must see broader than our own country, but reach [...]

Erick Scarecrow for ART + ACTION = Obama

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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Erick Scarecrow for ART + ACTION = Obama

Just like the daily polls, I am avidly watching the Barack Obama customs for the upcoming Art + Action: Custom Obama Action Figure Show that are trickling in from artists far and wide. If you live in a cave or are in some kind of McCainish denial, the much anticipated show will be happening at [...]

Damion Silver’s Emergency Obama Action Figures

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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Damion Silver’s set of customized Obama action figures have arrived and not a moment too soon. Damion gold-leafed the figures and made cases of clear plexiglass with laser-etched fronts. Each case comes with a hammer and Holzer-style truism instructions like to break when you need great change or when all hope is lost. Hopefully we haven’t [...]

Barack Obama Meets Bigfoot

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

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Maybe you can’t make it to elusive artist Bigfoot’s Hawaii signing on October 25th, but if you’re in the New York City area, you can see Bigfoot’s custom Barack Obama action figure. Who knows when the next Bigfoot vinyl is gonna come around, so dig into your pockets and catch this one. Said Bigfoot in [...]

Barack Obama as a Hip-Hop Jedi Hero by Suckadelic

Monday, October 13, 2008

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"I put a backdrop behind him so I would have a place to put the slogan Brand New Funky President (from the James Brown song)..." Definitely a piece for history, and one that should appeal to collectors of Star Wars, presidential memorabilia and hip-hop's crown jewels alike...

Leecifer for ART + ACTION = Obama 08

Monday, October 13, 2008

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Leecifer sent me these great turnarounds of his custom Obama action figure. With his third eye and patriotic suit, Obama is ready to face the nation…of toy fans at Friday’s Toy Tokyo show. First the toy fans, then the world. If toy collectors–full of opinion, complaints, enthusiasm and unsolicited advice–aren’t a good microcosmic representation for [...]

Brent Nolasco for ART + ACTION = Obama 08

Friday, October 10, 2008

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Brent Nolasco for ART + ACTION = Obama 08

Wow. Who knew Barack Obama would be such an inspiring platform for designers to customize? OK I did. But I’m being blown away. This sneak peek comes from master toy customizer Brent Nolasco. The title of this custom is “You Can’t Stop Change”. He applied his unique style to the Obama action figure, “changing him into a [...]

Art + Action = Obama 08: America is in a Pickle

Friday, October 10, 2008

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Following kaNo’s “As Seen On TV” custom, here’s your next sneak preview: “America’s in a Pickle” by Brian Colin. Brian blogs: “Out of all of the candidates that I have had the chance to vote on since becoming of age, Obama is the only one that I have felt strongly about. If America is in [...]

Art + Action = Obama 08: Current Lineup

Friday, October 10, 2008

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Here's the current lineup of Art + Action = Obama 08: Bigfoot, Brent Nolasco, Brian Colin, Brin Berliner, Cope2, Erick Scarecrow,Indie, Leecifer, MARS-1, Peat Wollaeger, Phetus, pocketwookie, Spok-spok, Suckadelic, Voltaire...

Custom Obama Action Figure Sneak Peeks

Friday, October 3, 2008

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Here are a couple sneak peeks of custom Barack Obama action figures from Jailbreak Toys’ upcoming Art + Action show. Above is kaNO’s custom Obama. The idea behind the custom is “the revolution will be televised” with a gentle dig at media overexposure. There’s also room for interpretation. I like to think of it as [...]