PROPERTY + LIFE + STYLE + ART + MUSIC + DINING JANUARY| 2017 Don't Forget to Play Caption fine arts PHRANC’S TOYS! By Kim Frank Toys. The great unifying force. Who doesn’t break into a grin at the memory of a favorite childhood plaything? Even the terrible Burgermeister Meisterburger had a softening moment when handed a yoyo in the holiday classic, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. If these past few months have you feeling a little Bergermeister-ish, be sure to attend Phranc’s "TOYS" show, part of Friesen Gallery’s 30th anniversary celebration on December 29. As children, my sister and I had a refnished base- the femur-sized tubes left in an utter explosion, she ment dedicated our toys. And while our father had ofered me an ultimatum: “Pick these up right now built foor-to-ceiling shelves to house our games, or I will give them away to a child who will take care dolls, science kits, art supplies, etc..they somehow of them.” In a brash instant of stupidity that 12-year- kept spilling out onto the foor, necessitating a olds seem to specialize in, I said, “Give them away.” bulldozer to clean them. Te crown jewel was my For a feeting moment I felt like I’d taken a stand on coveted set of Giant Tinkertoys. Hours were spent behalf of all children everywhere. I just said NO to building child-size cars and playhouses. Tese Tin- picking up my toys. I never saw them again. kertoys, when deconstructed and scattered all over the foor, were a hazard and an eyesore. Te hun- “Tere is grief in losing a toy,” says visual artist and dredth time that my mom came down to discover musician, Phranc. “One day I left my PEZ candy Left: "Blackie & Whitey Stripe" by Phranc. Kraft paper, gouache, thread, and cardboard. 2016. Courtesy of Friesen Gallery. Above: "Kooky" by Phranc. Kraft paper, gouache, thread, and cardboard. 2015. Courtesy of Friesen Gallery and "Junior" by Phranc. Kraft paper, gouache, thread, and cardboard. 2015. Courtesy of Friesen Gallery. svpn-mag.com 121 "Sun Valley Skier" by Phranc. Based on a vintage wood and tin toy from the 1940s. 122 svpn-mag.com fine arts gun on top of the station wagon. We drove of and I never saw it again. I still can’t believe a toy was made that let you put a gun in your mouth and pull the trig- ger so that your tongue could enjoy a piece of candy.” Phranc understands the power of toys. And while the self-proclaimed “All-American Jewish Lesbian Folk- singer” (whose music career began in the early '80s Southern California punk rock scene, included touring with Morrissey, and continues with gigs as a folksinger today) is decidedly not a plump man in a red suit with a white beard, she does have a workshop beftting the greatest of all toymakers. Picture your classic charming California bungalow with a detached garage. Now slide up that door. Tere among the surfboards and wetsuits is a sailor costume, an authentic coonskin cap, and a long-sought-after vintage Popeye ukulele. In between Tupperware boxes of family memora- bilia are carefully organized rolls and rolls of paper, stacks of found card- board, and a range of paper sup- plies. Shelves and foor space are overfowing with paper/card- board replicas of some of the most iconic and creative objects that you’ve stored in your memory: rows of paper shoes from Phranc’s Card- board Cobbler pop-shop, paper replicas of cans and boxes of food that you once ate for breakfast but they just don’t make anymore, an original Steif bear, a range of vintage hand puppets, and a prototype stand that Phranc is constructing to display the full-length regalia of two larger-than-life western folk characters. “Making ‘Toys’ for this show let me time travel,” says Annie Oakley "I Wish I Was a Phranc. “It also led me to search and fnd images I had Girl" by Phranc. Kraft paper, all but forgotten. I have created toys that I once had. gouache, and thread. 2015. Toys I wished for but never got. Toys my father had. Courtesy of Friesen Gallery. Toys my brother had. Toys that my friends had. Toys that I dreamed of having.” While we Skype, Phranc presents some of the pieces “I can sing about anything and people will she’s created for her upcoming show at Friesen Gallery. hear it. In that same way, people connect “Check this out,” she says while searching for a make- shift ramp. Here comes a 1930s-style skier with wheels to my visual art because it stirs something under his skis careening toward me through the screen. within them and makes them laugh. That “Tis is from an actual toy,” Phranc explains. “I found laughter opens a little door, just big enough it on eBay.” Te work is painstaking and delightful. In addition to dozens of lovingly recreated vintage toys, to create a bridge to build a relationship, the exhibit includes two life-sized, fully dressed paper create understanding. folk heroes: Annie Oakley and Davy Crockett (who also Both my visual art and my music addresses happens to be celebrating an anniversary, his 200th). Every piece in the studio is being carefully placed in a the same thing, champion the same thing. Plexiglass box with a homemade stand that Phranc has All my identities are on the table.” constructed to protect the fragile artwork, and then —Phranc, visual artist and folksinger shipped of to Sun Valley, where she and the team at svpn-mag.com 123 fine arts Friesen Gallery will begin the process of creating the exhibit. Here’s the thing: the toys look exactly like the real thing. Tat frst stufed kitten you cherished as a toddler, carrying around until the nose was a nub, Raggedy Anne and Andy holding hands so authen- tic you reach for them with the same longing you’d forgotten about, classic stick horses that virtually every child galloped through their kitchens strad- dling. And while Phranc’s artistry is fawless in its replication, there is something else going on. Te cardboard paper replicas are clearly created with such great love and care that the object somehow transcends the material, transformed into a work of PHOTO BY APRIL NEWMAN PHOTO BY Artist and folksinger, Phranc art that elicits a deeply emotional response in the viewer. Don’t be fooled by Phranc’s collection as purely sentimental, the playthings are more than meets the eye. Te artist is devoted to exploring the iconic and mainstream, to creating dialogue and building community. “Toys,” Phranc says, “and our memory of toys, have the power to unify us in joy. People’s response to them is a catalyst. Who doesn’t love toys?” Play is in our nature; it’s at the heart of our innocent child selves. As we get older and our world gets more complicated, the power of nostalgia is potent. Phranc’s work taps right into that vein and injects some gold. After all, couldn’t we all use a little magic in our lives? Davy Crockett "I Wish I Was a Boy" by Phranc. Kraft paper, gouache, thread, Phranc’s "TOYS" exhibit premieres and cardboard. at the December 29 during the Sun 2015. Courtesy of Friesen Gallery Valley Gallery Walk, helping to launch Friesen Gallery’s 30th anniversary. The artist will be at the opening. Friesen Gallery 320 1st Avenue North | Ketchum 208.726.4174 friesengallery.com On view Gallery Walk Thursday 29 December 2016 Harvey Art Projects USA |391 First Avenue North MABEL JULI [email protected] | Phone (208) 309-8676 Wardel doo Garnkiny: Star and Moon HARVEYARTPROJECTS.COM svpn-mag.com 125 .