What’s up, Labbit?

SINGAPORE – He was known for his rock concert posters and credited for revival the art of concert posters in America, but these days, Frank Kozik says his mainstay is toys.

“I really like doing toys,” he said over the phone. “I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years. I got really famous for doing silkscreen printing and illustrations, but you always want to do something more. I love doing toys because I can self-produce them, I have complete control, it’s a three-dimensional object, you can make it as elaborate or as simple as you want. People seem to get much more involved with the toys than with the posters.”

Not that the artist’s posters are throwaway pieces. He made his name doing posters for rock bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Blink 182 and Red Hot Chili Peppers. His posters are inspired by pop culture - whether it’s the artistic style of Roy Lichtenstein, or using recognisable people and characters such as Darth Vader or Ronald Reagan - but they’re all done up in a fun, if slightly twisted, way. “I like to turn into a weird joke or something. Those posters tend to sell out immediately. Not only do poster guys collect them, but the fans, like Star Wars fans, love those. It’s a crossover thing. I don’t do it all the time.”

It was a trip to Japan that inspired him to try his hand at toys.

“I was going to Japan a lot. I had a circle of people I hung out with in Japan for a few years and I was like, ‘the toys there were cooling than the clothes’,” he said.

His interest in making toys stems from the fact that he’s a toy fan as well. “I’m a nerd like that. Back in the ’80s I was obsessed with Bandai, then I got into old vintage tin toys; and in the ’90s, I got into Hello Kitty stuff, and then the new urban vinyl stuff came out and I got super-obsessed with that.”

Still, it wasn’t easy getting started. “I tried to introduce them into the United States, back in 1998 or 1999. But there was no interest in the US. Then in 2004, suddenly people in the US were interested. And I was approached by companies and I was like, ‘I’m ready’. I’ve been very lucky to be able to have a place in the genre. I was doing this since 1991, but like I said, for five years I was only selling in Asia – Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore – but now there’s strong interest in the US and Australia.”

Speaking of public interest, fans will want to note that he’ll be bringing some of his more famous and weirder creations for the Singapore Toy, Game and Comics Convention (STGCC) this weekend. “I’ll be bringing the Rocket Raccoon Labbits, the Clockwork Orange rabbit, I’ll probably do some limited pieces of this hedgehog that I do personally handpainted, and the Salary Squid toy – it’s a businessman’s body with a squid’s head, maybe some Kim Jung Il resin pieces. And the new Mao piece.”

And he’s keen to see what toy makers here will have in store too. “I’ve never been to the Singapore toy fair so I’m looking forward to see what the local toy makers are doing.”

These days, toys make up the bulk of Kozik’s work. “I still do posters once in a while, I’ll do like one or two every month, but just for fun. It’s about 60 per cent doing toys, about 30 per cent doing commercial illustration work – like, I do a lot of stuff with shoe companies such as Puma, I’m starting to work with Converse – and about 10 per cent are posters.”

And is there anything that he hasn’t done that he’d like to do? “Interpretative dance!” he quipped. “I’ve been lucky. I’m a published author, I made music videos back in the ’90s, I do sculpture, painting, I do digital design, clothing, even record music.

“The only thing I’ve never worked in is dance or theatre. And I’m quite interested in that. I’m lucky to be able to things that I’m interested in. I don’t have a particular style, I have many styles. But it’s a matter of doing something interesting that has allowed me a personal freedom. So I’m happy to do something I’ve never done before. Over the years, people have been willing to pay me to do stuff in every format or genre. General creative things, that’s what I like.”

What Kozik also likes is taking an idea and seeing how far it can go. “The way I look at it is: No matter how weird it might seem, I think there’ll probably be like 100 people who’ll like it, so I just do it. I do populist stuff – like the Labbit toys – and they sell millions, that’s good money. And allows me to experiment and do bizarre that only 50 people want, but that’s cool, because I want one too. I try to keep it fun and interesting and nothing is a big problem.”

Kozik says has no problem mixing the commercial with the artistic. “The way I work is: I’m always doing stuff that people like, such as the Labbit toy or concert poster, but it’s not like I only do one kind of thing. I’ll design toys, shoes, I’ll write copy for ads…

“For a long time, the people that were into the posters didn’t realise that I made toys. But I didn’t care. It didn’t matter because it was nice to go do a different thing. I’m in a good position now because I have so many different fan bases. And that’s fine. I have more ideas than I’m ever going to produce in my life. I’m not afraid to try new things and see what happens.”

For Kozik, life in the 21st century has been “pretty good”. Born in Madrid, the young Kozik spent his childhood in Spain, growing up under the regime of fascist dictator Franco (an experience that would later serve as a major influence for his work), before moving to America at 15, where he has lived ever since.

“I’ve been lucky to live in nice places and been able to do my thing. I don’t need to be negative or weird. I get political sometimes – I grew up in a fascist state and a dictatorship, I know what that’s about – but I make fun of people equally. We’re all kind of the same: Left, right, whatever. I try to have humour in everything. I’m a relaxed person. I’ve had a fantastic experience over the years. I have nothing to prove to anybody, so I just do my work.”

He sums up his philosophy simply: Every day the sun comes up.

“When I have a problem, I think about the people who have survived concentration camps, people survived Hiroshima, and no problem I have is ever going to be that bad,” he elaborated. “So I shouldn’t get so upset that I make it worse. So there’s always a way to get past it. Get up every morning with a good attitude. The sky is there, the sun is there, you’re alive - do something!”

The STGCC happens today and tomorrow, Hall B & C, Level 1, Sands Expo & Convention Center, Marina Bay Sands. Tickets at S$19 (one day) and S$25 (two days) from Action City outlets, Rapid Culture, The Falcon Hangar, Toyz Crazi and at the convention (cash purchase only).