PLAYMATE Vector MZ
PLAYMATE Vector 1
PLAYMATE Superbrain
PLAYMATES is a project by artist Ariane Roesch that addresses issues of advertising, labor, and our use of technological items.
Ariane Roesch’s work explores how we situate ourselves within an increasingly mechanized society. Her work questions the physical and psychological structures that make up our everyday, ranging from essential building structures, such as the electrical wiring, to the basic conduct of how people communicate and behave. These systems are investigated through various media, taking shape in objects and room-sized installations utilizing appropriated imagery, textiles, and/or light.
PLAYMATES are soft sculptures, constructed out of felt, that are modeled after the early Personal Computer models which implemented the change from a computer being a business-only computing machine to also being an entertainment hub that can be enjoyed by the whole family at home. Each PLAYMATE is singularly crafted and constructed by the artist and is a multiple of ten. All PLAYMATES are packaged in their own carrying case/ storage box advertising their purpose – providing enough power to support your idleness. Just as they are constructed and packaged like plush toys, these soft sculptures are meant to be handled by their user: cuddle for comfort, nestle to nap, play for pleasure, peruse and ponder. Each object has a different slogan from its respective original advertisement sewn on to it. These slogans are personified so that rather than the object, they address you: “I have enough power to get things done.”
All PLAYMATES are packaged together with a book featuring original writings from the early 1980s from various sources commenting on the emergence of the Personal Computer and the increasing use of technological items. It also includes the original advertisement and advertising text for the various PLAYMATES. The box also includes a postcard, featuring one of the many slogans, that is provided for the user to connect with someone special.
PLAYMATES turns the art object into a product complete with packaging and advertising, using already existing systems of disbursements, on- and off- line, to spread the message of idling, reversing the original intent of these modeled-after machines. Each PLAYMATE is sold for $499, the current price of Apple’s I-Pad, yet the real value is conveyed in the fact that it is a hand-crafted object invested with time and effort.