re·dun·dant
/rɪˈdʌndənt/ [ri-duhn-duhnt]–adjective
1.characterized by verbosity or unnecessary repetition in expressing ideas; prolix: a redundant style.
2.being in excess; exceeding what is usual or natural: a redundant part.
3.having some unusual or extra part or feature.
4.characterized by superabundance or superfluity: lush, redundant vegetation.
I've started off this entry with the word 'redundant' because it seems to be a buzz word I keep hearing in the vinyl scene. Mostly when it comes to the amount of custom shows going on these days. You're probably wondering why a customizer who is involved in a lot of these shows is bothering writing a blog entry like this. To answer that question simply, I would say that I agree with what people are saying. Not that these customs are of any lesser quality, but they're getting to a point where people are missing great work being done because of the rush of the next show.
I've also heard some artists say they'd never do another custom again, unless it's something of their own creation on their own time scale. While 'never' is a strong word, I can understand where they're coming from. A lot of the custom artists out there (myself included) work day jobs and do all of this as an escape from that day to day grind. Yet when you have deadlines piling on top of one another it starts to become work. Which then puts the creator into a bind, try new fresh things, or keep with a stylistic approach they're known for and try to add some new flair here and there. While people have a style, they can usually turn heads still because we don't get to see it often. But with the onslaught of shows going on, we see those names and styles more and more often which begins to desensitize people and they all start to become 'redundant'.
I know there's a ton of effort and time put into these customs and for them to be clumped together in such a simplistic description doesn't serve them justice. These customs aren't made with the hopes of $$$ falling from the sky, but they're done out of the love for what we do. Yet, I feel like these frequent 'platform du jour' shows are taking away from that joy and excitement of the next big custom from so and so. So much so that I think I might take my hat out of the custom show arena for a stint. Of course I'll follow through with the obligations I've already agreed to, but other than that I think I'll be going back to my roots. Delving further into my own creations with the customs peppered throughout that.
If you've made it this far through my rant, I thank you for that. I'll stop this here since I can't talk to any of you instantly through here, but I'd love to hear what all of you are thinking. Please leave comments and voice what you love and dislike about the custom vinyl scene these days. Hell make that the whole vinyl scene.
Thanks for listening and reading.
-Troy
I think we're all feeling this right now, customizers and collectors. It's show after show and it dulls the senses. I have said the same thing. I will be cutting back and becoming more selective with my choices. If only to make the shows I do more special.
ReplyDeleteAs an artist on the outside looking in, I would like to be in some of these shows, but in order to do so I need to get back to work. I have been away from my desk for a while now as life has slowly gotten in the way.
ReplyDeleteI do see where you are coming from, but at the same time I think you have the right to turn down some invitations to shows if you feel as though you won't be able to finish in time or produce a quality piece for the show.
It is an interesting topic for discussion.
I've had this discussion with many other customizers, bloggers and collectors, from veterans to newbies like me ( less than 2 years) and I have to agree with what you are saying. After my commitments already in place for the remainder of year, I will be more selective if the opportunities still arise. I don't like when I'm doing a custom and it feels like work(so far there has only been two of them). I'm looking forward to some down time to focus on commissions. I'm honored to be asked to participate and for a bit I was doing everything that came my way especially being new to the game, wanting more people to see my work. I was burnt after SDCC, so I took a break, stepped back and reassessed the past year and I'm now trying to refocus and rebrand. I don't have a full time gig so my hustle and grind is very taxing.
ReplyDeleteWe shall see what happens for 2011 and beyond.
Thanks for posting this and starting the dialogue.
ritzy p
@Kevin - It definitely has come to a time where that seems like the most logical step.
ReplyDelete@Ryan - I'd definitely like to see you get into these shows too. So get to work! haha On the topic of turning down shows, it goes to what you said first, you'd like to be in these shows. When the invites start coming, it's hard to say no when you're trying to get your name out. It's almost a double edged sword situation.
@Ritzy - Like yourself I'm approaching my two year mark in this niche too. It sounds like you, Kevin, and I are all experiencing the same thing. I'll definitely be doing a lot of reevaluating and analyzing these next few months.
You know I support you :3 Troy ftw!
ReplyDeletememphis doesnt have this problem. I know 1 other collector in the city and as far as i know, i'm the only customizer/designer.
ReplyDeleteso you guys can come down here and do shows with me and there won't be any over saturation. Everything is new to these people lol.
so what i'm saying is while i see the downsides to what you're saying… to be devils advocate, be thankful thats a problem in a way. I'm flying solo down here.
I dig the topic Tro/ I wrestle with the redundancy issue a lot when going to make new creations. Too often when I look at my shelves of blank toys all I see is a sea of plastic. I find it very helpful to work on other non-toy art whether it be sculpting or canvases to refresh me in between customizing toys.
ReplyDeleteBrian Colin
I totally understand where you guys are coming from. I've just started that six-to-twenty-four month cycle and am hungry for work. :)
ReplyDeleteFor me, what I want to do to keep things fresh or low-impact is getting a nice palette of custom resin parts to use in kitbashing with my own stuff instead of scavenging from others all the time.
What I don't understand in the scene is when people obliterate the platform. When I look at a custom show, I want to see variations on a theme. When something doesn't fit, It doesn't belong. There's something to be said about bootstrapping a work to save on materials, but I don't understand some show inclusions, even though they're executed very well.
makin' friends,
jerO
As a collector, I truly admire the amount of time and energy you guys put into your work. That said, I see alot of repetition with the customs.
ReplyDeleteI think if we saw custom shows there were based more around concepts, for example "integrate a working light into your custom" or ""everyone use these little googely eyes", would make customizers approach it differently. Usually the MO seems to be "apply your style to this piece", and if there were shows themed around something other than a new platform, I think we'd see some really really amazing work.
I've been collecting for a long time now and I'm still amazed that we haven't seen much change. Customs to me are one of the few big progressions in the scene over the past few years. Think of it like that and the designer vinyl world is rudundant, not you guys. How exciting is a new sculpt going to be in 5-10 years? :)
@pbrigitte - Aww thanks!
ReplyDelete@Sparkles - I appreciate the devil's advocate take on this :) While I do feel fortunate to be included in all these shows, I want you to know that you're not alone. This community is very open, especially online. Outside of Rivet here in town there isn't much of a vinyl scene, albeit it does still sound larger than your hometown haha. Either way, keep working and the shows will come.
@Brian - I definitely agree with you about having other outlets outside of vinyl. I think that's one of my biggest complaints of too many show obligations, it gives you less and less time to explore alternate routes. Although, I know you can say 'no' it's just hard to do as an up and coming person on the scene.
@VlyDweller - I know we've discussed this further outside of here ;) haha
@Rosston - You're totally right with what you're saying. A simple, yet unifying theme to the show would really push the contributors to think outside the usual 'style bubble'.