{"id":1569,"date":"2014-02-07T05:31:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T13:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/66.147.244.209\/~canadiu3\/?p=1569"},"modified":"2025-01-07T03:17:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T08:17:53","slug":"guest-curator-pharrell-leaves-mark-on-vinyl-art-exhibit-this-is-not-a-toy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2014\/02\/07\/guest-curator-pharrell-leaves-mark-on-vinyl-art-exhibit-this-is-not-a-toy\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest curator Pharrell leaves mark on vinyl art exhibit \u2018This Is Not A Toy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
Photo from wikia.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TORONTO\u2014With four recent Grammy wins to his credit and a performance at the Oscars looming, the ever-busy Pharrell Williams has managed to find time to translate his creative talent to visual art with an exhibit launching in Canada.<\/p>\n

The Oscar-nominated hitmaker is serving as guest curator of \u201cThis Is Not A Toy,\u201d which opens at the Design Exchange in Toronto on Friday.<\/p>\n

The showcase is being billed as the world\u2019s first large-scale exhibition dedicated to urban vinyl as contemporary art. It includes an array of ornately detailed figurines from barely there miniatures to larger freestanding pieces, each offering a novel twist on playthings designed with grownups in mind. In addition to vinyl creations, there are pieces fashioned from plastic, plush and a host of other materials.<\/p>\n

Video screens and projections are featured along with the displays, enabling visitors to watch interviews with artists and gain insight into how vinyl toys are created and customized.<\/p>\n

The Canadian component of the exhibit features pieces by several contributors, including Castor Design, Sid Lee Collective and designer Jeremy Laing.<\/p>\n

The exhibit\u2019s name is drawn from the disclaimer found on product packaging for objects intended for use by adults which may be harmful to children\u2014items that may be called toys but aren\u2019t meant for play. The moniker also takes inspiration from Rene Magritte\u2019s famed 20th-century painting \u201cCeci N\u2019est Pas Un Pipe\u201d (\u201cThis is Not a Pipe\u201d), which showcases an everyday object as a work of art.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really plays upon expectations.<\/p>\n

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It plays upon what constitutes art,\u201d said John Wee Tom, who co-curated the exhibit with Sara Nickelson.<\/p>\n

Designer toys originated in the late 1990s, where artists like Michael Lau\u2014the godfather of urban vinyl\u2014and Hong Kong\u2019s Eric So were reimagining pop culture icons like G.I. Joe and Bruce Lee into contemporary works, noted Wee Tom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt comes from street culture, it comes from youth, it comes from fashion, hip-hop music and graffiti. And I think because of that very reason it\u2019s very, very relevant,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a collector myself, I have an interest in the genre. I thought it would be timely and interesting to do a show like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the case of Williams, who lent his vocals to two of 2013\u2019s biggest hits\u2014Robin Thicke\u2019s chart-topper \u201cBlurred Lines\u201d and electronic duo Daft Punk\u2019s \u201cGet Lucky\u201d\u2014the exhibit offers a public platform for the musician\u2019s artistic tastes and personal works.<\/p>\n

\u201cPharrell\u2019s involvement is really due to the fact that he\u2019s so passionate about the genre and explains that urban vinyl and collectible design is what brought him into the world of contemporary art,\u201d said Design Exchange president Shauna Levy.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

A shimmering centrepiece is \u201cThe Simple Things,\u201d a collaboration between Williams, acclaimed Japanese artist Takashi Murakami and Jacob the Jeweler. It features miniature jewel-encrusted goodies, including a ketchup bottle, cupcake and bag of chips\u2014some of the musician\u2019s personal favourite things\u2014nestled inside the oversized head of a colourful, cartoon-like character.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Wee Tom said Williams was instrumental in the development of the exhibition, facilitating introductions to many of the artists whose works are featured including Murakami and Brian Donelly\u2014better known as KAWS\u2014whose creations mesh elements of illustration and pop iconography.<\/p>\n

Two of Williams\u2019s personal paintings created by KAWS\u2014interpretations of popular cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants and the Smurfs\u2014are part of the exhibit. The works of other notables, including artist and toy maker Huck Gee, graphic artist Frank Kozik and retailer and toy producer Kidrobot, are also featured.<\/p>\n

Visitors will find plenty of nods to pop culture staples, from figurines of the Beatles and Daft Punk, to whimsical interpretations of iconic characters like Mickey Mouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe beauty of urban vinyl and design in toys is you really don\u2019t need any background or familiarity with art at all,\u201d said Wee Tom.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause (they are) such familiar shapes, but with a difference, with a twist, they\u2019re highly accessible. They\u2019re immediately appealing. But when you look at them longer and consider them longer, you see that they\u2019re concepts that go beyond their surface beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Is Not A Toy\u201d is on display until May 18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TORONTO\u2014With four recent Grammy wins to his credit and a performance at the Oscars looming, the ever-busy Pharrell Williams has …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":1614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-art-and-culture","mauthors-lauren-la-rose","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1569"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280034,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1569\/revisions\/280034"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}