My name is Tobey Parker. I am an artist born and raised in Queens, New York. The work I create spans many mediums including paint, sculpture, and more. My work exists between fine art and illustration. I explore the power of cuteness through paint, sculpture, printmaking, craft, and Augmented Reality. I want to create an immersive world which each piece lives in. My process is self-driven. Beyond what I’d like to create in my body of work I’m always drawing and thinking. I use my sketchbook as a tool to keep myself active. My aesthetic values stem a lot from childhood nostalgia, things I grew up with that have influenced what I like to look at and what I like to make. Anime/ cartoon, ideas of bootleg/ bootleg graphics of well known characters found in 99 cent stores, mascot characters like Hello Kitty from Sanrio and the way that they’re plastered on products, comic book art, high fashion and streetwear, music also inspires my work, etc.
There’s something tender and naive about childhood, and the things that mean a lot to you during that time. There were experiences that made me have to grow up early which left me longing for a previous time which is seen in my work, also negotiating whether what I’m drawing upon is just an idealized version of what I experienced. I don’t compromise my illustrative way of working in your design. The art world and cuteness seem to be at opposite ends and negotiating my work’s place in it has been a big thing for me. I think growing up with these characters and imagery gives the viewer an entry point into the world of my work. I don’t want to compromise because I know that there is an audience for what I’m making. This class has really helped me in terms of formatting what I want to say into a more academic way of saying it. Finding sources, adapting the language, talking about these themes which felt almost embarrassing to talk about since they focus on cuteness. Using these sources to back all of that up made it feel like more of a legitimate artistic focus. Having to write about these fixtures in my life that I hadn’t given a second thought to made me rethink their importance and why their so successful at making consumers want them.
