Champagne Coupe, Garnished with a Boop

Detail of Betty in a Glass (2012) by Cesar Santander

You all know that we love Betty Boop here at Paideia. So, when I saw this painting by Cesar Santander at Skidmore Contemporary Art, I was thrilled. If only I were a wealthy man. . . ;-)

Well, I'm a bit short on time at the moment, but I figured that this image would make for a fun way to celebrate our Silly Saturday post. If time permits, I'll try to write up a post on Skidmore's current exhibition, Route 66, which is full of the mid-century imagery that I love so very much. Yeah, I can get a bit nostalgic from time to time.

Anyways, here's some music.

Living Foodstuffs

Sophie the Pink Lemonade Ice Pop and Vampire Candy Corn from the World of Mr. Toast

Well, we've been looking at various toys over the past few weeks. So, let's check out a few plush dolls from the World of Mr. Toast!!!

You might be wondering why anybody would want to have dolls of drunken carrots or smiling ice pops. You might not find comics of sentient and mobile foodstuffs engaging in absurd behavior, minimal though it may be, to be of great interest. Well, there are some out there that enjoy playing with their food. ;-)

And, anyways, how can anyone dislike a fanged and winged candy corn?!!

Joe the Egg and Shaky Bacon

Fun stuff!!!

Minimal Words

Die (exhibition maquette, 1967) by Tony Smith, at the Orange County Museum of Art

Today

This Is All

That

Time

Will Let Me

Tell

Detail on Smoke (1967, fabricated 2005) by Tony Smith, at LACMA

;-)

Abominations of the Apocalypse

Rodeo, Sakura, and Kaili from Tokidoki's Unicorno Series

There's a toy shop in the southern part of Torrance called Pop Monster, which I get to on infrequent occasions. I'm not big on collecting, but I can appreciate the interesting toys and artworks on display. Well, as I was strolling out of my local library a few days ago, I noticed that they put up a nice showcase of the types of goodies that can be found at the store.

Yeah, it's a bit twisted, but I adore toys with a sense of humor. Therefore, here are a few photographs for Silly Saturday. ;-)

Smorkin Labbit from Kidrobot.

And then there were a few critters from the Apocalypse.

Kidrobot's Dunny Apocalypse Series, with Road Warrior by Huck Gee, Meltdown by Chris Ryniak, and Illuminati by Jermaine Rogers.

Fun stuff!!!

Loteria!!!

Detail of Death by Tupperware (2005) by Daniela Edburg

Although I love going to the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, sometimes their way of presenting the permanent collection baffles me. The curation seems a bit arbitrary or disconnected to the actual premise of the artwork on view. Since their collection is really impressive, this seems to be a lost opportunity to educate museum visitors as to the actual context or intent of the works displayed.

For instance, their current exhibition is LOTERIA: An Interpretation of MOLAA's Permanent Collection, in which various artworks have been selected to represent certain cards from the game, Loteria, a Mexican game of chance, like Bingo. This is an interesting approach; after all, if one can build a show around landscapes, still life, portraiture, or era, then why not organize based on game iconography? The problem is that the works have no inherent connection to gaming or game symbolism.

Nevertheless, the art in this exhibit is really good. Yeah, the curatorial approach seems scattershot, but the end result is enjoyable. Although organized as representing Loteria cards, this conceptual framework doesn't detract from appreciation of the pieces themselves. And, to be honest, this arrangement is no more arbitrary than setting them up on the wall in accordance with date of production or the letter of the artist's last name.

Detail of Citzij (2006) by Veronica Riedel

So, if there's no harm, then there's no foul. It doesn't really matter if a work is arranged as representative of The Crown or The Drunk or The Moon. As long as the art is accessible, then the curation has done its job.

A Singing Chihuahua with Maracas

Cuddle Barn's "Chuey Bamba" sings and plays the maracas


Well, here's a Silly Saturday treat for you: a toy chihuahua that sings "La Bamba" while shaking the maracas.

I really don't like holiday shopping, but sometimes you can see the oddest of things. Among the singing toys on display, I thought Chuey Bamba had just the right mix of cuteness and absurdity. Then again, I didn't notice Chili Pepe. ;-)

Let's look at some vids:

Silly Saturday: Chickenmobile

The Chicken Mobile delivers!!!

Seriously, who would want their dinner delivered in a yellow Cadillac with a chicken's head and tail sticking out the top and back? Maybe the kids would like it or someone enjoying a drug-induced euphoria. As for me, one instance of having the Chickenmobile park in front of my place would certainly encourage me to forevermore pick up my takeout orders. ;-)

Check out this post from LA Weekly on another chicken car, "El Gallo." Fun stuff!!!

Yeah, this is another "Image of the Day" post, but with a twist. If I'm going to do easy photo blogging, then I might as well follow some weekly themes. And, therefore, I've initiated "Silly Saturday" with the intention to provide my dear readers with a goofy treat to start the weekend right.

Now, comedy isn't my thing. This feature may totally fall flat. But experimentation is the key to successful long term blogging and writing. It keeps things from getting stale, develops underutilized narrative talents, and creates a diverse portfolio within a blogger's body of work.

So, this is our first installation. Let's look at what happens next week. . .

And a few vids over the jump.