Laura Torres and Pietre Valbuena
Artist Statement
In this post Web-2.0 era of ever-younger children plugging in and logging on, it is the adult collectors-market for the physical, tangible toy that has grown considerably. Although fueled largely by nostalgia and by an attempt to recapture elements of childhood, this
demand is also driven by a desire to re-examine through adult eyes, what it was that so appealed about these items initially. In our work-in-progress graphic novel on 1980′s girlhood, we explore the different ways in which children pick up and process adult behavioral cues and pop-cultural references. Rather than just revisit the cliché
of gazing backward, we explore how it is that a child might view adulthood, as well as how and why she might seek to emulate the trappings of this adult-world.
In the 1980′s, many popular children’s-media franchises were born as toys, toys available well before a first episode aired on television or a first issue appeared at the newsstand. Here, we pay homage to–as well as tweak — this model. Inspired by the gallery-space
requirements of Made to Move, our 80′s-toy tie-in finds our as-yet-unnamed main character standing inside the outline of a house she has made from leaves, wearing a backpack she received for her birthday and holding a book she has read and re-read many times over.
Biography
Laura Torres is a Boston-based multimedia artist. She received her MFA from the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Pietre Valbuena is an illustrator from NYC, who received his BA in English & Film from Cornell University. They had collaborated previously on the “dating” website, doubleblind.me.
Artist’s Website
Click here for Laura’s website
Click here for Pietre’s website