Interviewing Frank Kozik tomorrow: got any questions?

I agree with Kozik in that it is it is lucky for him he can still sell the KR stuff.

Somehow I think if the KR $$$$$$ dried up but the five figures in additional annual Kaiju custom income was still available here he'd be bemoaning the existence of elitist KR snotnose punks.

The hypocrisy used to be more subtle but age kicks everyone in the ass unless they die first.

 

Well ......I guess I'm destined for failure.

 

was he at "Severed For Life" or is this someone else?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikekellyi ... otostream/

 

That's Baikin.

 

you best start saving your pennies

 

I'm up all night if you want to talk about it.

 

It's all product to him....gig posters, 7 inch records, lame ass KR toys...remember he knows how to "sell to the underground". I kinda like Frank for his honesty and KR is basically like Starbucks by trying so hard to brand 'cool' in an acceptable manner. But Frank is implicit in that and TBH far too often steps over the line of "refreshingly honest" to "two-faced douche".

 

Sounds more like an exploitationist than a designer, which seems to be most people's problem with him who don't like his stuff from what I have read.

 

I read the comments here before reading the interview. Like putting salt
on a meal before tasting it. That was fun.

I like bunnies but won't go for any mocassins.

This all makes me wonder if the dude that designed my car is a douche or not.
Maybe that's important to know.

 

Great interview - very well done. I found myself agreeing with about 90% of what he said, especially the bits about having business sense before you can successfully run a business.
Sure, he's upfront about making money, but I hardly think anyone in the "toy" scene is doing this out of pure altruism. If you expend time and effort, you deserve to be compensated. Ask Brian Flynn about that; I'm sure he'd agree.
And, as much as it might sting some people, I thought Kozik's comparison of certain kaiju fans to record-collecting nerds was pretty accurate (and I know plenty of both). People do get caught up in this tunnel-vision view of what's "cool" and what isn't, and, as a member of this board for several years now, I can say that it's pretty comical if you're looking from the outside in.
Do I like everything the guy does? Hell no; in fact, less and less as time goes on. But he doesn't care, and there's no reason why he should.

 

Didn't this discussion occur about 2 weeks ago?
And about a month before that?
The board is usually circular, but it seems that the replay factor is now about 5 minutes after the last thread.

 

some of you are just fucking weird about Frank. Get over it already.

 

I'm just bummed to see that his detolfs are now full of his own toys. He had such a cool, varied collection before the sell off.

 

Frankenlove is in full bloom. I hope he does read this thread and feels proud that he evokes so much emotion. This thread is a laughfest. I wonder how long it will run?

 

Some of Frank's comments in the interview cut to the heart of the eternal art vs. commerce struggle. If I'm reading his tone correctly, he almost seems to lament the popularity of the Labbits, while reasoning that he and KR keep cranking them out because they're what people want. He does say about his toy projects "they make people happy" which is probably the best defense, if any is needed, for repeating one's successes. The Labbit may be overdone but it's such a perfectly designed succinct little statement ... pure attitude, but kinda cute, too. He's right to say that if there were no sellouts, there'd be no product. Similar to what Gary Panter was saying about "selling out" way back in the '70s: "Capitalism good or ill is the river in which we sink or swim, and stocks the supermarket."

It is a little weird that there have been two FK threads recently despite his longtime absence, but you know what they say, a little venting can be healthy.

 

if i were a well-known artist that people gave a shit about and wanted to read interviews with me, the temptation to totally warp the reader's view of my personality would be almost irresistible. if your detractors suggest that you are a reductive non-artist, why not encompass that role for them to some degree? validating their spiteful mini-obsession only further bolsters those who support you.

 

That just sailed over my head.

 

Edited pending image permission.

 

That image is copyrighted by the original artist. Did you obtain proper reproduction rights?

 

Ok. How's this then?

 

W. T. F.

 

Wahaha. Awesome picture name.

 

Anyone with a library card should check out--- We Owe You Nothing, Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews ISBN-13: 978-1-933354-32-3

There's a great interview with Kozik in it.

 

Is that Kozik pooping on a chicken head?
That's a disgusting fetish.