LATDA Museum & the Pasadena Museum of California Art Present
BEYOND ULTRAMAN:
SEVEN ARTISTS EXPLORE THE VINYL FRONTIER
Pasadena, CA Sep 24, 2007 Beyond Ultraman: Seven Artists Explore the Vinyl Frontier is the first museum exhibition about the vinyl art toy movement. Presented at the Pasadena Museum of California Art in collaboration with the Los Angeles Toy, Doll, and Amusements Museum, Beyond Ultraman explores the work of seven artists who have elevated the vinyl art toy movement and captured the attention of two audiences: the mainstream art community and the toy community.
The exhibition features vinyl toys and other art by GARY BASEMAN, TIM BISKUP, DAVID GONZALES, DAVID HORVATH, SUN-MIN KIM, BRIAN McCARTY, and MARK NAGATA. The work of these seven Californian artists are representative of a larger, global movement of artists who are using toys as a medium for art. This exhibition is the first exploration of a phenomenon that will undoubtedly grow, change and ultimately persist. It opens October 10, 2007 and runs until January 6, 2008 at the Pasadena Museum of California Art.
Why are an art museum and a toy museum collaborating?
For the same reason that artists are exploring toys as a medium. Toys are an early entrée into the basic appreciation of art - objects that provide a sense of pleasure by their mere existence. As a toy museum, we are interested in the history and development of these objects and their makers. The art museum perspective explores the specific new expressions by the artists and how they influence the definition of art.
Fifty years ago the words "art" and "vinyl toy" were about as likely to be spoken in the same sentence as "art" and "comic book". Today the latter has been recognized by fine art and historical museums alike. The mid-century modern definition of a vinyl toy was basically one thing - a doll. But as the vinyl toy figures evolved into action figures in the 60s, the technology and art of that period influenced the generations that followed. While the vinyl art toy movement began in Asia, primarily Japan and Hong Kong, California's potent mix of cultural diversity and cutting-edge experimentation has since made it the ultimate fertile ground for this thriving movement.
Learn more...
OPENING RECEPTION
Meet the artists October 11, from 7:00PM - 9:00PM. General Admission $5.00 Press RSVP to latda@latdamuseum.org
About LATDA Museum
The Los Angeles Toy, Doll and Amusements Museum (aka LATDA Museum) is a 501(c)3, non-profit organization whose mission is to preserve, explore, and interpret objects of play and amusement; and to examine their influence on people of various times and cultures. It is a museum dedicated to those objects that tirelessly amuse us, keep our secrets and provide us with inspiration. LATDA pays homage to these intersections of our memory and imagination.
Website: http://www.latdamuseum.org
About PMCA
The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) is dedicated to the exhibition of California art, architecture, and design from 1850 to the present. Informed by the state's rich mixture of cultures and inspired by its impressive geography, California art has long been defined by a spirit of freedom and experimentation. PMCA exhibitions and educational programs explore the cultural dynamics and influences unique to California that have shaped and defined art in all media.
Website: http://www.pmcaonline.org
LATDA Museum
Maria Kwong
Director
email: latda@latdamuseum.org
phone: 323-397-0314
Pasadena Museum of California Art
Emma Jacobson-Sive
Public Relations
email: emma.jacobson@pmcaonline.org
phone: 626-568-3665 ext.12
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