Seattle’s Mike Leavitt has crafted an army of 225 polymer clay action figures which he calls his Art Army. The people he immortalizes range from singer Bjork to Chihuly (pictured here) to Vincent van Gogh. “I liked the idea of the art army, of them fighting without violence….It wasn’t just about non-violence, it was about fighting with art, with music, just entertainment, whatever it may be,” he says.
His fully-articulated action figures represent famous artists, each one handmade from Fimo and elastic and standing from 7 to 10 inches tall. Leavitt’s web site chronicles his art that covers a wide range of media and subject matter. It includes an animated feature chronicling “The Art Army vs. The Man.”
One Seattle critic calls Leavitt’s work an antidote to cultural suckiness. Take a look and have an imaginative weekend. Thanks to Susan Rose for the link.
I live in Ohio for heaven's sake and of course I'm nervous about tomorrow's election. I need a distraction. I've got just the whacko thing for a whacko Monday. This video (see the MySpace link below) of Seattle's Michael Leavitt's polymer clay poseable action art figures is wonderfully entertaining. To…
Continuing Friday's art-as-commentary theme, let's look at another army of polymer clay figures from New York's Elliott Arkin whose small people exude a kind of eerie lifelike quality. Mr. Arkin fashions remarkably detailed scale models of exaggerated characters that are designed to provoke close-up inspection. Early works are represented on…
A cupcake, a garden spade, a piggy bank, an organizer, pizza, hand soap, a swiss army knife, "isolate", micron pens, puzzle pieces, her husband's sisters, beads, Campbell's soup, distancing. How cool are these charms on this Covid 19 bracelet from Seattle's Cynthia Toops? She's summed up what she's going through…
Leavitt succeeds in art’s most important function — to not only help us recognize and articulate our values, but participate in a dialog that validates them as well. At its best, art connects our best selves with each other, and he has done that.
My heart goes out to our largely forgotten and ignored soldiers in the military. I’m angry over the circumstances that landed them there. I’m grateful to artists who address the subject of “What is it about fighting and glorifying fighting and power, anyway?” in a way that gets our minds thinking and lips moving.
Ronna Sarvas Weltman ,
Leavitt succeeds in art’s most important function — to not only help us recognize and articulate our values, but participate in a dialog that validates them as well. At its best, art connects our best selves with each other, and he has done that.
My heart goes out to our largely forgotten and ignored soldiers in the military. I’m angry over the circumstances that landed them there. I’m grateful to artists who address the subject of “What is it about fighting and glorifying fighting and power, anyway?” in a way that gets our minds thinking and lips moving.
Thanks so much, Cynthia.
Polymer clay toy artists and their site at Polymer Clay Daily ,
[…] top off my exploration, I clicked on the Mike Leavitt link. We’ve featured Mike before and his Barack Obama figure is outstanding. ToyCyte’s […]