Ask anyone who knows Mark to describe him and the two things that will come up are toys and art.
After attending the Academy of Art College in San Francisco during the late 80's and picking up a New York artist's rep, Mark embarked on a 10-year plus journey as a freelance commercial illustrator. Over the years he's worked with a diverse client list which has included Scholastic Books, Bantam Books, Harper Collins, Becketts Publications, Schlage Locks, AMD, Genentech, IBM, Square Soft, Activision, DC Comics, Sony, Galoob Toys, Lucasfilms, Hasbro Toys and numerous Advertising and
Design firms nationally and internationally. The highlight of this time included over 40 cover paintings for RL Stine's Goosbumps book series, Give Yourself Goosbumps.
Churning out hundreds of assignments over the years, coupled with deadlines from hell took a toll, both mentally and physically. "I had to reassess what was important in my life and refocus my abilities towards a new goal. " said Nagata.
"I'd been collecting Japanese toys all along, and suddenly realized it would be cool to have a magazine of some type devoted to them. So it's no surprise that Mark ended up creating and co-publishing Super7 Magazine. After successfully building the Super7 brand for nearly 4 years , it was time to move on."I wasn't able to paint as much as I wanted, and I realized that the part of Super7 I enjoyed the most was creating toys and artwork " reflects Nagata.
Thus was born Mark's new venture called Max Toy Company, named after his son Max. With a nod to the Golden Age of Japanese toys, Max Toy Co. will continue the tradition of offering classic Japanese character toys by all the best toy companies. Max Toy Co. also produces its own exclusive toys, both licensed and original. Many of the original toys offered are hand painted by Mark Nagata. A tradition that goes back to Japanese toy makers. Also most of the offerings feature unique artwork on the headercards painted by Mark.
In September 2007 the first group Kaiju show in the United States featuring artists and companies from Japan, USA and South America was held at Rotofugi Gallery in Chicago. Called Toy Karma ( www.toykarma.com ) it was a historic gathering that featured many custom painted toys and art.
Following on the heels of this event in October 2007, over 30 of Mark's original paintings, toys and a selection of his vintage toy collection were featured in Beyond Ultraman: Seven Artists Explore the Vinyl Frontier, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art , a joint exhibition with LaTda , Los Angeles Toy, Doll & Amusements Museum. This marked the first time in a musuem setting that the influence of Japanese toys on California artists was explored.
And in 2009, Mark curated Mark Nagata and Kaiju Comrades art show in Tokyo, Japan, once again bring together artists from different aspects of the kaiju toy movement in this first of it's kind art toy show. From 2008 to the present Mark has also been selling his hand painted custom Kaiju toys via the prestigous auction houses Philips De Pury and Christies in New York and London. Mark's customs have sold in every auction and continue to spread the Kaiju art toy movement into new uncharted areas of the art world.
In addition, Mark has also written and Max Toys have appeared in the Eiji Tsuburaya biography from Chronicle Books,the soon to be released, Kaiju Attack from Collins Books and Full Vinyl book from Harper Collins, Otaku USA magazine, and Japanese magazines, Hyper Hobby and KaiZine, Spectrum Fantastic Arts annual book, to name a few.
More recently Max Toy Co. has teamed up with well known Art Toy distributor, StrangeCo .,to help wholesale and distribute its product to a much wider audience.
"Max Toy Co. allows me to produce original artwork, sculpt new toys, and work directly with a lot of my talented artist friends." Nagata says.
Max Toy Co is a synthesis of toys and art ... both life long passions.
My interview with Mark Nagata
Hi Nick !
Sorry for the late reply to your reply ;-P below are my responses !
#####
On Apr 13, 2010, at 7:29 AM, Nicky Birch wrote:
Thank you again for agreeing to help with my project,
##### your welcome !
I am uncertain how to start so I was going to rattle off some questions just to get going.
##### thats fine ...
1) Do you think the current trend for designer toys is linked with the growth of hip-hop and the aesthetics of the graffiti culture?
##### I think a certain segment is surely tied to those movements .. for sure the collectors and artists in their 20's and below , it's a major influence.
2) I have heard many different names for the current art movement, e.g. Low Brow, pop surrealism, underground art, naïve art, outsider art and new Brow art. Which do you feel is the most correct?
##### Well personally I don't think it's up to me to say what is correct or not ;-P If you look at any Art movement from history it's usually post the movement when the name of it emerges ... I suppose you could say the Pop Art movement was coined by them, but I would guess with so many terms floating around, it will be up to the historians to settle on a term or two ... I like Art Toy as a general catch all term.
3) Would you say that the designer toy industry acts as a separate element of the ‘low brow’ art movement, like painting, sculpture or performance?
#####
Yes and no ... it is an extension of Low Brow art, for sure, but what i do is based and influenced from japanese pop culture going back to 1954 and the first godzilla film .. there was no low brow back than ( ha-ha ).
4) With manga being a more respected form of story telling in Japan, do you feel the people there are more open to designer toys and don’t consider them ‘low brow’?
##### well in Japan, Manga is a form of communication .. they look to Manga for entertainment but also to learn and educate. So unlike comic books in the USA, they are not viewed as a kids thing. In that way japan is far ahead of western cultures in excepting Manga as a art form.
5) Which artist would you most like to work with on a toy project?
##### I think I'm pretty lucky, so far I've worked with almost everyone I wanted to work with.
6) Would you say that you have good relationships with Strange Co and Kid Robot?
##### Sure, StrangeCo is my distributor in the USA, I've not had direct connection with Kid Robot, but they do carry my toys.
7) Do you use 3D rendering software such a Maya to create your designs?
##### I wish I did use a computer program like Maya ;-) No, I just use a pencil and paper. For colors I use a photo copier of the sketches and affix them to a board with matte medium, than use acrylics and airbrush to color them.
The only time a computer is involved is to scan and send them off to a sculptor or factory.
8) Would you ever bring your Kaiju Comrades show to the UK?
##### Thats would be fun .. although I'm fully booked almost till the end of 2011 right now .. and would also depend on sponsorships and if a store is willing to put the time and effort into hosting a show like that. It's a big undertaking .. as these shows can have over 50 artists involved from all over the world !
9) What stuff do you like that’s out there right now, whether it be a toy, art print or sculpture?
##### There's a Japanese couple called Gumliens .. I love their work .. and also Imiri Sakabashira .. some amazing toys by this guy ... sorry there's so many great artists right now ;-) hard to pick !
10) What tips could you give an artist who wants to get his designs produced as toys?
##### It's really a tough market out there right now. You can of course approach the major companies with your ideas ( but get them to sign or agree to a non disclosure agreement first ! so they don't steal your designs from you ! )
if you can not get your own figures made, funded by yourself, than look into getting resin versions made .. you can even do this yourself .. with a bit of practice. It's probably the easiest way to realize your figures in 3D form without breaking your bank account.
While I have your attention, I hope you don’t mind if I try to capitalise on the opportunity, I would very much like to submit the final designs of the toy range I am working on, to you to get your opinion and any criticisms to help develop my working practice, again I realise you are very busy so any help is greatly appreciated.
##### Sure thats no problem .. I can give you my opinion on them ;-)
I wish you and your family all the best in the future.
Thank you very much for your time
##### Thanks Nicky I hope these answers are useful, and feel free to keep intouch !
Mark
