E

64 Colors’ Good 4 Nothing Dunny

luding to the diverse palette within a box of crayons, a potential starting point for the journey of most modern artists, the aptly aliased 64 Colors duo are the husband-and-wife team of Eric and Laura. Traveling a route within the art toy movement for over a decade, included in their diverse career are lushly naturalistic hand-painted pieces, each imbued with a hefty dose of the fanciful. And it this style from the 64 Colors partnership which would be the basis for the Nature Spirits and Supermagical factory-produced Dunny designs from Kidrobot in 2011 and 2012. While it is an inescapable truth that “we can do a lot more with a brush than pad printing ,” they note of the technique factories apply decorative detailing through, the duo may have finally shortened the gap with their newest edition produced by Kidrobot, the Good 4 Nothing Dunny.

With a coating of intricate and complex elements adorning the roughly 8-inch tall shape of the Good 4 Nothing Dunny, it is a visual feast that approximates the feel of the duo’s hand-painted works. Incorporating several fantastical tree trunk and branch embellishments as well as the duo’s reoccurring mushroom iconography, 64 Colors admits that these “stylistic similarities” bind the piece to their established oeuvre while also embodying “what we’re working on in [the] studio now.” These aspects, both established and new, stem from “the quietness of our surroundings,” they explain. “We’re still [living] in Michigan, with forest and farmland surrounding us,” the duo continues, adding how “we interpret what we see and incorporate that into each [work of art].”



But there is at least one depiction that is unintentional, according to the artists: “We don’t see a rabbit when we look at a Dunny,” they say, referring to how Kidrobot’s form is purportedly a ‘Devil Bunny’ portrayal. “We see a Dunny as [if] it’s a character that is all its own,” the couple continues, this particular design embodying “a daydreamer, ne’er-do-well, lazy, irresponsible loafer, maker of nothing, doer of little… a floater.” Perhaps denoting proud acceptance of this description, the Good 4 Nothing Dunny has ‘Stay True’ emblazoned above its heterochromatic eyes, though Laura admits that this slogan is “just something that resonates with me,” the artist having “used it on some of my paintings.” And while the lip piercing and droplets of saliva primarily break up the line of the mouth aesthetically, the latter serves a secondary purpose according to 64 Colors, who state that it is “the drool which brings your eye down and points you visually in another direction.”“The Dunny, to me, is always a character,” Laura discloses, “so you start with the face and then visually wander around.” Adding to the richness of their design, the Good 4 Nothing Dunny isn’t a single specific character but a tale-like tapestry. Creating “an entire piece that flows together,” as they describe it, the artists like “to imagine the piece as a real, three-dimensional character walking around with each smaller character existing on the larger Dunny body.” Brimming with scenes that each bear “a specific meaning,” a predominantly expressed attitude appears to be “being relaxed and enjoying the moment,” according to 64 Colors. “You can,” they add, of course, “read it however you wish.”“There isn’t enough time,” the duo notes as an overriding meaning behind this piece in either of its two pearlescent red and blue variations, the 800 piece Bright edition and the 200 piece Kidrobot.com exclusive Vintage rendition. “The older one gets, the faster the clock ticks,” the couple explains, “and before you know it, a lot has happened.” And, ultimately, “there comes a time when one is fini,” they intone, citing the French word for “finished.”“The whirling ways of stars that pass,” a line from William Butler Yeats The Song of the Happy Shepard , is invaluable towards understanding this design. “In my simplistic way, that line is what this piece is about,” Eric reveals, “or, at least, a feeling we’re trying to project. We lost my dad last year,” he continues, “[and] a very special pet [on] the day before him. Life events which,” according to 64 Colors, “make you think, ‘What is the point?'” And the answer is that sometimes, as the couple recognizes, “you just have to be good for nothing” other than providing a happy moment and brief respite to this passing point in time.

Click Here to Acquire 64 Colors’ Good 4 Nothing Dunny from Kidrobot, or Click Here to Find a Kidrobot Retailer to Order it from.

For more information on 64 Colors:

website (64 Colors) | website (Laura) | facebook (64 Colors) | facebook (Laura) | twitter (64 Colors) | twitter (Laura) | instagram (64 Colors) | instagram (Laura)| pinterest

Alessandro Gallo's Most of the Time Nick Curtis Without defying Tennyson's proclamation that it's "better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all", Bob Dylan's raspy voice recounts a further truth: that lost love can become haunting, unwelcome memories shattering an otherwise serene existence. Thus begins the latter half of the musician's Oh Mercy…