Ron English's Lucy

Seriously? Like for real?!

Whenever I open a thread that has Ron English on it, I end up feeling like its some new toy nerd way to get rick rolled...

This is garbage.

 

the only one liking it doesnt buy, what a pity.

interesting read!!! your description reminds me of andy mouse also.

when art is transformed into toys, there is something that makers likely seem
to forget: target group. there is none.
while artcollectors usually dont feel vinyl/plastic figures, art-toys seem to have a apecial
appeal that doesnt go well with what toycollectors adore about toys.

 

i threw up a little bit in my mouth

 

what about this one then?



i like the one with the white because it looks like a tan line

 

we worked long and hard with Ron on the first McS figure I am super happy that it is still getting a lot of love, we are super proud of that piece. We are hoping to do something new with Ron soon

I am not a fan of the recent figures (the Grin and the Secret base ronnie excluded) mainly because i think that there was not enough back and fourth between artist and producer to get the best possible design together.
Ron is a Huge talent but is definitely being undeserved by his current creative partners

 

Yeah, sort of like a Jerry Springer show in vinyl toy format.

 

I love Ron's work, which makes me dislike this even more - not even infinite trainwreck potential can make this loveable.

Now howabout a Monster Fam collab, with art direction from Flynn and teh S7 krew - THAT I would like to see!

 

I tried to talk to Ron about an S7 collab at SDCC and he didn't seem that into it.

I think this makes a great girlfriend for Nag Nag Nag.

 

Monster Family was newer then - but now its firmly established as a quality series. You should send him a set and see what he thinks.

Next time I see him I'll be sure to mention it!

 

it's funny as hell to look at, but who would buy it?

 

your statement is what i forgot to add to my dissertation on this toy.
it's genuinely shocking to my eyes. this doesn't happen often to me as my puritanical side is much neglected.

 

Ron English cover ...

http://www.colorinkbook.bigcartel.com/p ... number-six


I got some stuff in there as well

 

Having survived What George Lucas Did and fifty thousand Lowbrow artists' tired-ass cute stuffed animals with fangs holding bloody daggers and Captain Jack Depp showing up on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, I'm way over seeing my childhood raped. It's been rote for days. I dislike this thing more for its fake-transgressive conceit than the fact that it's embarrassingly ugly.

I propose a PrePoMo Manifesto! Death to rampant irony! To arms! Lucy in the Trash with Skumbo!

 

yeah but Lucy's always been a nasty person, so she deserved this send up. Suppose that was part of the rationale? Essentially going beyond the commodification of pop culture characters by accessing the inner-Charlie Brown, perhaps you are tossing this too quickly into the tired categories of past artistic "movements". He was the everyman, Charlie Brown, and Lucy was his evil tormenter. Now as an adult, English takes revenge for Charlie Brown through grotesque idolification.

 

I thought I was the only person bothered by Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Carribean ride!

 

This just seems like a giant mish-mash of random stuff he has used in other figures // paintings. I hate everything about this figure -_-", c'mon Ron.

 

if it was not for all the extra eyes and the snoopy boobs I would be amused, boobs are supposed to be boobs except when they are wads of tissue or robot boob guns

 

you guys don't get it at all.


Lucy is a vicious wench and the only villain in the whole Peanuts gang. I think most of you are looking at this piece as an art toy or adaptation of English's work. I've come to realize that this way of thinking is foolish.

The whole piece is obviously an attack on the Lucy character herself, whose self-importance and strong will led her to dominate her peers with ruthless enthusiasm. By grotesquely stripping her down to this form, English exposes Charlie Brown's nemesis and makes this villain vulnerable and ridiculed. We've all felt like the underdog at least a few times on the playground during childhood, now as an adult Charlie-Brown/English takes his revenge on the bullying manipulator. This manipulator is a common children's character, inflicting trauma while also inspiring the victim to desire the acceptance of the bully who reigns on the playground hierarchy. Why did Charlie Brown always fall for the old football kick gag? Because he needed the Alpha Child's acceptance. Here, Lucy is the one abused.

Also worth noting is that the sexualization to the point of absurdity references the embedded misogyny that C Schultz's placed within the core of the Lucy character.

 

^^^^ Just what I was thinking. Actually that's a pretty good analysis Slim.

 

Yeah, I'm not looking for a moral. It's just a gross toy that looks like no fun.

 

there is no such thing as "just a toy" when made by a successful artist. even when that is their intent, there is usually more substance than just the ability to appeal to playability.
in many ways, this is his most poignant toy for me. still don't want it on my shelf.

if you have not yet read it, though a bit dated, Walter Benjamin's Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction could be an eye opener as to the varying levels of intent that English has in this piece. it is not simple parody.
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subje ... njamin.htm
this work doesn't completely apply to this particular piece but for all modern art toys, really.

 

Fair enough, thanks for the link. I will try and check it out with an open mind.

 

I agree with the sentiment but unfortunately for this piece there is a such thing as "just a toy" when purchased by a collector, I tend to just wander on what my eyes like