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Posted by Todd David Schwartz on November 22, 2010 - 5:24pm
Designer Con, held Saturday, November 20th, in Pasadena, California, was a smashing success, brimming with the spirit of honest creativity. There were roughly two dozen originators of what are known as "art toys" there to meet and greet their fans, along with a huge number of manufacturers and distributors. The art toy phenomenon has been up and running for about half a dozen years now. Essentially, these toys are -- for the most part -- delightfully unusual and unique little characters. They usually come in sets, each individual character sealed in a "blind box," so you don't know which toy in the series you are getting. But not knowing for sure exactly what you're getting is part of the fun, not dissimilar to once-upon-a-time collectors of baseball cards, who experienced the mystery and rush of opening a freshly purchased pack. Designer Con is on the cutting edge of pop culture. While also trafficking in pop cullture, Comic Con has become too corporate. With the involvement of so many mainstream entertainment companies, the fresh pop and snap has withered and sagged in the effort to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Big and bloated, Comic Con is more interested in volume than in value. The lines are too long, it's expensive to get in, and culturally, it's almost become the equivalent of eating a balogna sandwich with mayo on white bread. It's bland, predictable and pedestrian. To continue the food analogy, Designer Con is more like eating a delicious and exotic sandwich made with caviar imported from Mars, and cheese from a unicorn -- utterly out of this world, completely unexpected, intriguing and memorable. The bottom line is simply this: Comic Con should be re-named Common Con. On the other hand, if you're a pop culture aficionado who enjoys bathing in the artistry and surprise of the genuinely one-of-a-kind, Designer con is the place to be. Check out their website for next year's event: designercon.com. It's the real deal for creatively-oriented people who are tired of running with the same mindless crowd.
POSTED IN: The Arts, Entertainment
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