OBVIOUS PLANT
presents
OBVIOUS PLANT’S MUSEUM OF TOYS
Subversive Toy Maker and Famed Social Media Artist OBVIOUS PLANT Transforms His Online World of Toys into a Mind-Blowing Real-World Museum Experience
OPENING RECEPTION
March 1, 2019 | 7pm - 11pm
MUSEUM RUN
OBVIOUS PLANT’S MUSEUM OF TOY’S @ START POP UP
2270 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006
February 2019 | Los Angeles, CA – Obvious Plant's Museum of Toys is an interactive exhibition that transports visitors into the surreal, alternative history of toys, as told by Jeff Wysaski a.k.a. Obvious Plant. In this parallel universe, the toys we know and love have been recontextualized to create a dark, bizarre version of the past, where Hello Kitty Goes to Rehab, Casey: The Talking Tape Player delivers only bad news and Spiderman is, well, Covered in Spiders, Man!
For the past four years, Wysaski has been creating and ‘planting’ phony and satirical replicas of signs, toys and products in real-life retail spaces; leaving them to be discovered by the unsuspecting public. These guerilla installations are then shared with Obvious Plant’s 600,000 social media followers, under the moniker @obviousplant.
“As a comedian and artist, it's important to know what the audience’s response is to something I’ve created,” Wysaski explains. “The intention of the initial piece is to bring a moment of unexpected joy to someone's life and give them something out of the ordinary to share with their friends. But I don't get to see that response. Social media allows me to share that humor with a larger audience and bring other people in on the joke. My main goal of any piece is always laughter. Social media allows me to "see" that laughter.”
Obvious Plant's Museum of Toys is an ambitious extension of this process. By showcasing the reimagined toys in an accessible real-world environment, visitors are able to experience his offbeat humor first-hand. “Over the years, I’ve made hundreds of fake products and signs. It has long been a dream of mine to collect those items into a physical retail space that allows visitors to immerse themselves in my satirical world. My fans have also been asking for a way to see my work in person. A museum is a great way to accomplish that.”
On March 1-17, Obvious Plant’s Museum of Toys will open its doors in the neighbourhood of West Adams, just south of Koreatown, with over 100 toys and games to view and interact with. Beyond the 100+ toys and games, there will be several experiential photo opportunities including a life-size action figure box where guests can step inside and become a toy themselves.
Another major attraction of the museum will be a wall of fake GameCube games designed by notable artists and web personalities such as: @teenagestepdad, @lord_birthday, @renaissance_man, @calkearns, @ermsy, @onegianthand, @dustinteractive, @bethdrawsthings, @toonholechris, @doodleforfood, @sean_speezy, @hannahhillam, @djinn_kazama, @tittybats, @fokawolf and more!
Special guest museum pieces will also be on display from @paperbackparadise, @baseballcardvandals, @everythingisterrible666, @dano_brown, and @joseph_harmon.
In addition to the exhibition, there will be a museum gift shop selling exclusive, limited-edition toys and apparel. The museum will also feature numerous special events, including artist Q&As and pop-up stores from other popular web personalities.
The confirmed pop-up guests days are:
Saturday, March 2
Poorly Drawn Lines Pop-up shop and exclusive toy release | 12-9pm
@poorlydrawnlines will be on-site releasing an exclusive toy in collaboration with Obvious Plant and selling Poorly Drawn Lines merchandise.
Sunday, March 3
Everything is Terrible Pop-up shop | 12-9pm
@everythingisterrible666 will be on-site selling their merchandise and taking donations of Jerry Maguire VHS tapes for their #jerrypyramid project.
Sunday, March 10
Oddly Weird Pop-up shop
@oddlyweirdshop will be on-site selling her kooky handmade merchandise in a one day pop-up.
Obvious Plant’s Museum of Toys is a must see for toy fans, collectors and humour lovers alike.
Obvious Plant’s Museum of Toys will be open daily from 12pm-9pm March 2-17, 2019, with an opening reception on March 1 from 7pm-11pm. Located at Start Pop Up, 2270 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 900061. Obvious Plant is available for interview.
About Jeff Wysaski
With a social media following of over 600,000 people, Jeff Wysaski a.k.a. @obviousplant is one of the most shared and talked about bootleg toy artists in the world. His limited-run toys typically sell out within hours of release, fetching up to $600 per piece. A veteran of online comedy, Wysaski has consistently proven that his work stands out against the endless barrage of content that is uploaded to the Internet each day. Over the past 4 years, Obvious Plant has been routinely featured on the front page of Reddit, BuzzFeed, and countless other media and entertainment websites. Wysaski has been interviewed by The Washington Post, Fast Company and NPR’s All Things Considered. Prior to starting Obvious Plant, he ran pleated-jeans.com - a successful comedy website that garnered 6 million page views a month.
Obvious Plant’s Museum of Toys hashtags: #MuseumofToysLA #MuseumofToys #ObviousPlantsMuseumofToys
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