Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Frank Kozik: Devilish Toy Designer Part 2


                  


Like i promised I'm gonna give you guys some background on Frank Kozik and show some more of his designs.
He was born in Madrid , Spain in 1962. At the age of 14 he moved to the United States and settled in Austin, Texas. Credited with single handedly reviving the “lost” art of the concert poster, his creative career rose largely out of his enthusiasm for Austin’s growing underground punk rock scene in the mid-eighties. Starting with black and white flyers for friends’ bands posted on telephone poles, his reputation grew as an artist whose work was graphically compelling as well as culturally gripping.
Kozik is based in San Francisco, California, where he produces artwork, toys and graphic design. He formerly managed his own record label, Man’s Ruin Records (1995-2001). Under which, he released over 220 singles and full length albums including the first Queens of the Stone Age single.
He has produced artwork for a diverse range of musicians such as Pearl Jam, the Butthole Surfers, Green Day, Neil Young, Sonic Youth, the Melvins and many more. In 1996, he directed Soundgarden’s “Pretty Noose” music video.


Kozik’s commercial clients include Nike, Gatorade, Absolute Vodka, Oakley, Harley Davidson, and Spike TV.
In 2001 Kozik left the music business and devoted himself full time to fine art and the newly emerging Vinyl Art Toy movement. Since 2001 he has designed over 300 separate toys and art multiples.


Teaming up with such entities as Kid Robot, Toy2R and others, he has created many collectible characters such as the Smorkin’ Labbit series, the Hate Dunny and Dr. Bomb. He is also known for producing hand painted, one of a kind custom toys and Kaiju figures.
In 2007, he started his own brand, Ultraviolence™, under which he produces limited edition art toys and bronze sculptures.

                              

                            

                  

40 comments:

  1. wow some of these 'toys' are just weird man lol at ludwig van

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  2. He seems to really like bunnies and cigarettes. Cool stuff about the record label and how he worked with all those musicians, I'm a fan of a few of them.

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  3. really great post man. respect for your effort!

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  4. That's some pretty awesome designs!

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  5. wow! the fidel castro bust statue looks cool!

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  6. Hehe lots of cool stuff, a bit of the old Ludwig Van is never wrong ;-)

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  7. Artworks are amazing, I like the Beastie Boys one. Nice article =)

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  8. i'd buy me Che :D
    None of those movies!

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  9. I have seen the Kid Robot stuff. And I want that Bruce Lee Beastie Boys Poster REALLY bad.

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  10. P.S. Is it just me or does the Che Skull looks strangely like Big Boss...

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  11. He has a very interesting story. A real throw back to the myth of gilded age entrepreneurship.

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  12. I never knew there was such a deep history in the art of toys lol

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  13. Nice background information. Good stuff.

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  14. Thanks for the kind comments on my blog :)

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  15. Marilyn Manson poster is cool as fuck.

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  16. He did several posters for my brothers band, or for shows that his band played. Always trippy stuff. Great blog! Im not following you!

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  17. these are pretty cool... he should make some crazy bobbleheads

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  18. Wow I love his stuff, it's really great work!

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  19. those luche libre toys look legit.

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  20. That last pic is wicked! I want one :O

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  21. That last one looks oddly familiar. http://zombietools.net/t_shirts_plus/ (I have the first shirt.)

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