Ok. I've had this idea in my head since my first year of A level Art and Design. The course never allowed for me to really take it to the level I wanted. I was only able to make some mock up large scale packets of PEZ candy and a styalized advert style painting based on early PEZ promotional material (see below). I have never really been an avid collector of PEZ items but the artwork and simplicity of the product really fascinates me and I guess has led me on to want to create in that bracket. The collection shown above belongs to an American collector. The American market for these sweets is huge as I will show in later posts about PEZ culture.
My Idea was to simply make a large scale PEZ dispenser complete with large scale mock up 'sweets'. It was during my time in second year here in Bournemouth that the other possibility came to light. I had heard about the third year students having to make some sort of card holder for their business cards at the end of year show. It was suddenly a natural fit of purpose and desire to create: A large scale PEZ dispenser that dispenses Business cards!
Here's a rough sketch I did of how I might work:
Another subject of fascination I have held for some time is with the Broken Sword Adventure Game series. The first two games of this series feature stunning 2d animation (Screenshot below) which has resonated with fans of the franchise ever since. The franchise later went on to produce two 3d games which although not lacking in story, really didn't feel the same. The Developers, Revolution Software have come full circle and have vowed to deliver a new 2d game when their schedule allows. This series has accumulated a loyal following and has constantly been updating itself to appeal to new audiences by redeveloping and re-releasing on new platforms.
Despite this outstanding success there has never been any physical merchandise! Being such a passionate fan and avid maker it has always been my intention to make figures from this series and I was disapointed not to be allowed in our first year of study. For this project I proposed a range of characters from the game to go on the PEZ dispensers but felt the tutors were unlikely to agree due to the non mainstream cult status of the franchise. I was right. Unfortunately my plans for this are on hold unless I have a speedy success with my progress and have time to do more sculpts.
Heres a rough concept drawing I did of the main characters head on a dispenser:
Another idea I proposed was to create the mascot of one of my all time favorite bands, 'Less Than Jake'. LTJ have always had a great quirky and almost childish approach to this art work but it suits their style perfectly. One of the prominent features of their album artwork from an early stage always featured PEZ. I learned that this was due to the band member's fascination with collecting dispensers! One of their mascots which developed over several years was the 'Revolution Kid' who sported a PEZ dispenser of his own head in hand (See logo below). I felt this would be a great way to make a concept into reality which would no doubt get a lot of attention with its bright colour's and striking style. This is still a possibility but the tutors have stated I need to find something with more universal appeal that is new to both the world of PEZ and the viewing visitors of our exhibition, yet regonizable in the subject of the head sculpt.
It's worth mentioning that the term 'head' sculpt does not rule out objects as well as characters. I think it is important to stay true to the body of the PEZ dispenser itself as the production models all do. The 'head' however could be an inanimate object such as a football (mundane example).
That brings me onto the sculpt's. This will be the most challenging element of this project for sure. I have only really done one lengthy accurate sculpt before and that was back in first year. This may be seen as a risk but I feel I have developed my ability to learn and work at skills that I suffer in enough to get this project done the way it should be. Stay tuned!
Over then coming weeks I will update this blog as my ideas develop.
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