KING OF BIBELOT
Money burns a hole in my pocket. It always has. Until I really learned to control my spending (...well...I'm still working on it...), carrying cash was a problem. One guilty pleasure that never really lost its power over me is the candy/gumball/toy vending machine. They just stare me down and beg for my change every time I pass by a wall of them. "Pick me! Buy me! Just $.50!" they say, and who am I to deny them? My mother?
So, now that I have my own means, I seem to have way more brick-a-brack around. Some are useless, most are even more useless. However, the latest find I placed on my shelf is actually pretty amazing, and I can't believe I got it for two quarters and a sharp turn of the wrist. They are called Miijii. According to the website, they are "mystical creatures generally depicted in a smooth form with short legs to avoid trouble." Here is how I made mine:
I don't know how magical they are, but artist Spencer Hibert really made my Ohio day by creating these silly things. What am amazing way to get some Japanese pop art out the the masses! They are a little bit Cracker Jack and a little bit Murakami. They remind me a little bit of the Kidrobot bunnies I used to buy at Urban Outfitters or the issue of Visionaire I got a few years ago.
Some call these things dust collectors, but I have to disagree. There is an argument for them being art. I like the idea of how ephemeral the candy machine Miijii are in comparison to the highbrow artist toys. We could also start a dialogue on the ideas surrounding an object and its relationship to its environment.
What we can't argue is that these things are fun, and for fifty cents there isn't a better burn/deal around. See if you can find some!
