Toyism
Toyism is a contemporary art movement founded in the Dutch town of Emmen in 1992, when the artist and musician Dejo published the manifesto "Mother" after two years of groundwork. It emerged as a reaction against the individualism of the 1970s-90s art world: toyists work as a collective, wear masks, and hide behind single-letter pseudonyms and puppet icons, so the artwork matters more than the artist. Their figurative paintings and sculptures tell stories in pure, unmixed colors and dotted patterns, playful at first glance but with a serious undertone. From 2002 the group opened up internationally, taking on members worldwide and scaling up to whole buildings: the gas sphere "The Dot" in Emmen, the transformed Hotel Ten Cate, and the water tower "Uppspretta" in Iceland.
Defining characteristics
- Figurative, storybook compositions with clear narratives
- Pure, unmixed colors set side by side so each stands out against the others
- Dots and crisp, uniform areas of flat color
- Recurring toy-like icons - teddy bears, space shuttles, computers - as motifs
- Joyful at first glance, with a serious undertone
- Art scaled to whole surfaces: buildings, vehicles, storage tanks
Key figures
- Dejo (fl. 1992-present) — Founder who wrote the manifesto Mother (5 September 1992) defining the collective's rules
Example works
- The Dot (De Stip) — The Toyists (2009-2010)
- Dreams for Breakfast — The Toyists (2012)
- Uppspretta — The Toyists (2013)
Sources
- Toyism - Wikipedia encyclopedia
- The Dot (Toyism) - Wikipedia encyclopedia