#charlesswenson

Toy Soldier #3, charles swenson

At some point during the years of ’05 or ’07, while looking for something small that I could use as a subject in the studio, I bought a set of toy soldiers online. When I got a good look at them, I realized that unlike the contemporary green toys that we are used to, these were each individually made. There are twelve. I painted up a set of portraits just to see what they might look like, and, I’ve been using these same twelve toys as subject, off and on, since then. I’m told by toy people that they were probably made right after WWII in Japan, when the Japanese economy was almost non-existent, designed by Japanese artists and then hand-crafted for the western market. They are all well proportioned, but inexactly finished, and this imprecise quality, combined with over 70 years of wear, makes for a potent image when blown up to a viewable scale.

Toy Soldier #8, charles swenson

At some point during the years of ’05 or ’07, while looking for something small that I could use as a subject in the studio, I bought a set of toy soldiers online. When I got a good look at them, I realized that unlike the contemporary green toys that we are used to, these were each individually made. There are twelve. I painted up a set of portraits just to see what they might look like, and, I’ve been using these same twelve toys as subject, off and on, since then. I’m told by toy people that they were probably made right after WWII in Japan, when the Japanese economy was almost non-existent, designed by Japanese artists and then hand-crafted for the western market. They are all well proportioned, but inexactly finished, and this imprecise quality, combined with over 70 years of wear, makes for a potent image when blown up to a viewable scale.