new acquisitions

based on the guidelines that i had previously set for myself, i have gathered three new toys to pull to pieces. fortunately many of the toys that i checked out yesterday are limited to their use, so it allows a more natural corps esquisse to occur - esssentially the best parts are picked for their individual qualities, and how they fit into the composition as a whole will determine the programme of the final piece:

• super elasti luffy - kyle picked this up at BJ Supertoys, because he looked like someone we know. although he is primarily sound-based with no moving parts, i felt that as the toy required direct interaction with the body in order to speak, that he counted. the long arms and legs of the toy include elastic thread and stretchy plastic; when pulled, the toy makes a number of strange noises. although the box says that the toy "hable en ingles," he isn't very clear.
  
• magic mates voice activated cinderella - another amazing find at BJ Supertoys, the cinderella doll responds to the volume of a child's voice. she responds to sound, but often inappropriately and nonsensically. when a noise is too loud, she will ask you to "speak softly, please." another disney attempt and teaching little girls that they should be seen and not heard?
  
• thrift-store boobah (pictured above) - these guys came out after teletubbies. the first coincidence is that a lower-end version was at bj supertoys, but it only had sound qualities, and therefore was out of my framework (i wanted the body to play a role in the toy's use). a few steps to the thrift store next door allowed me to find this thing - two microswitches (buttons) make the toy sing and dance. the second strange coincidence is that i used to set many of these puppies off simultaneously in superstore when they were commercially available.

posted by chelsea @ 7:40 AM