It’s been a week since the announcement of the Michael Lau x MINDstyle ‘The Godfather’ art toy project. Now, MINDstyle has released the first glimpse of the figure design. Looking to translate the iconic and notorious Mafia leader into the vinyl aesthetic, Paramount’s choice was a natural – not only is Michael Lau one of the first pioneers of what was once labeled ‘urban vinyl’, he has continued to cement his status as a legendary vinyl artist over the past ten years with his highly respected Gardeners series. The studio gave Lau complete artistic freedom for his interpretation subject to the approval of the estate for the character Marlon Brando made famous.
While these days artists are often intensely specialized – painter, designer, sculptor,etc. – Michael Lau has his hands in nearly the entire process of toy creation from concept, to drawings, to sculpting, to box design. His sculpt for the original (marionette) edition features the aesthetic that made the Gardeners so popular. The interpretation features a stylized take with a highly detailed and expressive facial details. The final figure will stand 12” with the marionette apparatus (8” by itself).
Up next, MINDstyle will unveil pictures of Michael’s hand-done paint master.
