The Milk Munny exhibit at Monorchid Gallery opens Friday at 7 p.m. for a one weekend run with proceeds from the show benefitting the Keep a Breast Foundation.
“Keep a Breast is very into the art side, hip, cool. We wanted to bring awareness and a different light not only to the vinyl world community, but to a cause,” co-owner of Acrylic Squid and co-founder of the Milk Munny exhibit Trevor Hill said.
Created by Acrylic Squid, the Milk Munny exhibit features over 90 custom vinyl toys by more than 60 artists. The artists are a range of designers from amateur Phoenix residents to household names.
Kat Von D, tattoo artist of High Voltage Tattoo featured on TLC’s LA Ink, collaborated on a twenty-inch toy, or Mega, with Tempe tattoo artist Joshua “Uncle Josh” Gargalione to design an Asian tattoo-style toy.
“It was a great minds think alike kind of a thing,” Gargalione said. “Asian style tattoos are meant to be one flowing piece meant to decorate the whole body so you have to think of it as one body suit.”
Allocating different body regions to the two artists, Gargalione designed the torso and the right arm. He says the collaboration was made easier by the fact that they both are tattoo artists and know how to design things cohesively.
“I like the Koi fish in the front…because it wraps around the chest area and flows down the body to the leg,” Gargalione said. “It just looks like it belongs to it.”
The toys come in two sizes: seven or twenty inches. The seven-inch toys will cost $150 while the Megas will be $750. However, because of the positive support for the art and the cause it is benefitting, a silent auction was added to take place during First Fridays.
“It’s blanket prices with first-come, first-serve, but because… so many people are trying to get certain ones that we know we can get what their value is for this fundraiser,” Isse Maloi, exhibit artist and co-founder of Acrylic Squid said.
The use of vinyl toys in conjunction with the Keep a Breast Foundation makes the cause of breast cancer research that much more accessible.
“(Vinyl) is a huge growing art form, because it can be transferred over to many different art forms is so cool,” Cole Reed, owner and artist-on-hand of Thiq Ink, said. “When you mix artistry like this with a cause, you can’t beat that.”
Last year, the Milk Munny exhibit by Acrylic Squid was to benefit autism. However, the choice of breast cancer for this exhibit was a personal decision for Maloi.
“My sister passed away January 3, 2009,” Maloi said. “She had breast cancer for a little over a year and a half. It was the first time I had to deal with someone that close to me actually go through cancer. The show is awareness for it.”
Milk Munny will have an artist reception and collectors’ preview at 5 p.m. while doors open at 7 p.m. with RSVPs recommended. RSVP at RSVP@milkmunny.org.
Contact the reporter at crcruz1@asu.edu
