Imaginary Vintage Toys of Randy Regier
|Randy Regier is an artist who makes vintage toys that didn’t actually exist, but certainly could have. Regier’s range of imaginary toys is shown through the eyes of a child attempting to make sense of the craziness in our world. He quotes from The Cultural History of Toys, a 1928 essay by German literary critic, Walter Benjamin:
Children do not constitute a community cut off from everything else…their toys cannot bear witness to any autonomous separate existence, but rather are a silent signifying dialogue between them [children] and their nation.
For Regier, these words ring true beyond toys, extending to “all manner of objects – artifacts – from our collective past that are formed and fabricated by human hands and intentions.”
These are fantastic, from the authenticity of the production to the details of the packaging. I particularly enjoy the names of the fake companies (Gypco, Shytee Dae, Crapstar) and the not-so-subtle social commentary. I would love to see some of the skilled toy customizers in our scene attempt provocative projects like this.
Check out Regier’s lastest works: Hecho en Maine (the artist currently lives in Portland Maine) here and Paradox Lost here. Click through for a full survey of the imaginary toys. Wonderful.
- American Battery-Using Astronaut © Randy Regier
- Bonnie and Clyde Car © Randy Regier
- Go Fast Daddy-O © Randy Regier
- Godforsaken Astronaut © Randy Regier
- Impending Future Bus © Randy Regier
- John Manshaft 9 to 5 Action © Randy Regier
- John Manshaft Antarctica © Randy Regier
- John Manshaft Fall Down Action © Randy Regier
- John Manshaft Run-in-Suit Action © Randy Regier
- John Manshaft Victory at the Alamo © Randy Regier
- John Manshaft on display at Whitney Art Works
- Male Model by Crapstar © Randy Regier
- New Dog by Shytee Dae © Randy Regier
- Space Tractor © Randy Regier
- Christ of the American Road © Randy Regier
- Christ of the American Road (process) © Randy Regier
- Christ of the American Road (process) © Randy Regier
- Christ of the American Road (process) © Randy Regier
- The Long Weight © Randy Regier
- The Toygantic © Randy Regier
- Twilight Star Custom Wristwatch © Randy Regier
- Whitey Cracker © Randy Regier
[via How to be a Retronaut]