THE VISION

Toys are art- but designed to appeal to the young- and the young at heart. And America inspired a avalanche of wonderful toys rarely ever seen in human history... toys designed to inspire adventure and enjoyment of the out of doors, and yes patriotism, even courage to protect and defend our country, our unique society and freedoms. But over the years, toys took a turn to fantasy and gratuitous violence, and our children today miss out on key ingredients that many Americans had in mid-century America. AmerIkon*Trader  is determined to salvage and reinvigorate those old toys and the values they represent.

It all started with these guys. A few years ago I was trying to jump- start my fading western art career, and decided to give in to the hunger for tangible inspiration. I loved the TV mini-series Lonesome Dove, and started there. After extensive research and eBay trolling, I found the parts and made myself some models. Soon I was addicted to the toys of yesteryear, and exploring the wonderful material culture of my childhood. Johnny West action figures made by Marx proved to be a perfect substrate for me to work with, and before long Capts. Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call were staring up at me.

The deliberate plunge into my childhood brought many re-discoveries, but mostly an appreciation for the toys which inspired my generation. But there was a new world, fascinating and quite historical, being conceived, manufactured and marketed on eBay by foreign entrepreneurs. And as I began to collect action figures, old and new, I realized that art was not dead... it had just been commandeered by the Chinese, and was now residing in sophisticated action figures most adults have never seen. The artistry was astounding. The fact that people were admiring, collecting, trading and selling these things made me realize how out of touch I was.

Action figures were, yes, just dolls. But they were flexible, poseable, and changeable, and importantly to me, marketable. They were toys... sort of, yet they were fabulous interactive sculptures as well. They had almost human body language.  Their expressions were hauntingly realistic. They offered the owner diversity, even companionship, an active role in the sculpture's appearance, all while they stimulated humor, sentimentality, pride and inspiration. And they made great artist's models.

So naturally I began to familiarize myself with this new genre. I began to especially delve into the material worlds of 1/6th and 1/18th figures, and found that anything I ever wanted to paint or illustrate had been made in some fashion... again by the Chinese. But everything lacked that something, the touch of authenticity, which comes from first- hand knowledge. Gus and Woodrow encouraged me to keep at it. There was much work to be done!