Toys in the Attic: Artist Mike Smash shows off his extensive collection

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Toys in the Attic: Artist Mike Smash shows off his extensive collection

POSTED: Thursday, April 29, 2010, 6:29 PM

Filed Under: Arts | Arts Events Visual Art

Emily Currier

"It's like extremely expensive wallpaper," says Mike Smash. He's talking about his toy collection, which he estimates contains 4000 pieces. Descending into the basement of his Kensington home means delving into a sprawling world of DVDs, VHSs, toy boxes and various art projects. By day Smash works as an independent contractor for the Mural Arts Program, but it's clear he thrives the most when surrounded by the artistic clutter of his studio and interior life.

Emily Currier

"I think everyone needs something to collect, something to appreciate in mass," Smash says. Having collected the equivalent of one figure a day for the past 10 years, he is hard pressed to pick a favorite toy, though it typically its an item from his extensive horror collection. Smash's fervor for toys isn't just limited by what's on the shelves; he's created his own custom toys too. Doctoring together limbs and clothes from different dolls, he creates one-of-a-kind specialty toys such as the Special Agent Dale Cooper and Laura Palmer dolls he made for the Twin Peaks-inspred art show, The Black Dog Runs at Night, he curated at Piranha Betty's Art Market (2472 Frankford Ave.), King Diamond figures, zombie-fied children's toys and the slit-wrist 'I Love You To Death' Barbie ("Barbie's got issues like every other girl," Smash says.) Like most six year old boys growing up in the late '70s, Smash took an interest in G.I. Joes, Go-Bots and Transformers toys. But unlike his peers, he wasn't blowing up his toys for sadistic giggles, instead he was carefully preserving his treasures, often keeping them secured in their boxes. While many of his originals were passed onto to less fastidious young siblings, Smash's interest in collecting was renewed in his 20s leading him to hunt down figures from horror films at flea markets, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us or anywhere else he could get a good deal. Smash typically sets up shop at festivals, including Fishtown's Shad Fest, and horror conventions. If you don't catch him vending at the Piazza, you can friend him on Facebook to express an interest in his wares. Smash's artistic endeavors extend beyond toys into magnets and, recently, hand-painted metal statues of cult figures. "The work that you do as a creative person never ends. There is beauty in the process," Smash says.

Emily Currier

His Twin Peaks dolls are available for purchase through the month of April at Piranha Betty's. After their successful opening reception of over 600 people, Piranha Betty's will be hosting a closing party for the exhibit tomorrow. The closing party will have a decidedly darker tone, and Smash warns, "Don't bring your kids."

Fri., April 30, 6 p.m.-midnight, free, Piranha Betty's Art Market, 2472 Frankford Ave.

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Featuring everything from event roundups to concert reviews and sex talk, City Paper's Critical Mass is a space for off-the-wall coverage of Philly's A&E scene.

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