Playing with Toys, Project II

We are going to play with toys! What did you play with and how did that make you who you are? Toys are the tools of childhood. Lets deconstruct that.

Pick a toy and build a sculpture around the recontextualisation of that toy. It may sound strange but it happens all the time. Put a doll on a bed and you have a safe place, take the same doll and throw it in the gutter and now you wonder were the child is, is she ok?

First find a toy, one you have saved, one of your kids or grandkids, or purchase an iconic toy; thrift stores are great for this. Lets take it apart and rebuild it better than before, now it’s not just a toy, it’s a sculpture, a work of art! Take some risks with this idea. What subjects would you really like to discuss through your toy?  You will need a toy that is loaded with meaning (either personal or public) Pick carefully.

Recontextualisation: A process that extracts text, signs or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) in order to introduce it into another context. Since the meaning of texts and signs depend on their context, recontextualisation implies a change of meaning.

Assemblage: The Additive process of making sculpture by grouping or piecing distinct elements.

Readymades: Found objects that are exhibited as works of art, frequently after being placed in a new context.

Deconstruct: Think about, pull apart and analyze.

 

Materials: Anything you want.

If you have a dremel bring it, glue, sculpey or paper machie clay or some of the two-part rubber putty.  Scrap wood, extra toys or toy parts, old newspaper, acrylic paint, media’s and wire, really anything you can think of, bring some stuff to share, what you don’t have in your assemblage drawer someone else may have in theirs.

Remember this is the first night, leave yourself open to explore!

What hasn't come to you yet may come to your neighbor!