oh my ghosties!

daily melody: Crystal Castles "Magic Spells"

Despite the fact that I am stressing like no tomorrow, I do still manage to have good moments in my life, and this is an example of one of them...involving a tiny plastic ghost.

I traveled to Armory Square, in Syracuse, yesterday cashing in on my free tall coffee at Starbucks [check the top of the bags of ground/whole coffee beans for the rebate] and walked on over to Sound Garden where my little Totem Doppelganger [his birth name by product] and my new Munny were purchased. You can also find Munny friends and other cute creatures on KidRobot, My Plastic Heart, or any other contemporary business.

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These little guys [or girls!] are small, eerie, alert, charming, and vibrant with color are miniature versions of Anton Ginzburg's wide-eyed stackable ghosts. And they stand at about 1.75-inches tall and come in 14 different colors...perfect for pockets, purses, dashboards, window sills, and bookcases.

Prior to the purchase of my own purple ghost, I housed no knowledge of the installation and sculptural artist Anton Ginzburg or his work. Even when I'm alone I sometimes feel a tidbit of shame for not having prior knowledge of this beautiful and inspirational Russian artist. I am very content with my ghostie and the fact that his presence ties directly to the artworld, before his purchase or the fact that I had no clue someone made these guys!

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A bit of Ginzburg's Totemdoppelganger [from his website] :

[ A ghost is imagined as a person’s posthumous double.

In Totemdoppelgänger, Ginzburg has appropriated a cartoon ghost—a memory of East German stickers from the 1980s—and manufactured three-dimensional multiples of it. Enlarged and repeated, stacked one on top of the other, the ghosts acquire the seriousness of graven images. The installation mixes the sacred and profane according to the logic of dreams, where throwaway objects can take on profound significance.

Ginzburg has incorporated a reference to another of his works, Haunted Circle, into Totemdoppelgänger. That installation employs a similar strategy of creating fetishes from commonplace things, using a marker, chain, and nail to make a ritual circle on the wall. In Totemdoppelgänger

the marker hangs in mid-air, suggesting a circle yet to be drawn, an ambiguous vulnerability. ]

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As of the moment Doppelganger guards my Mercury Grand Merquis from the middle of the dashboard like a deadly ninja. Yes, though he a tiny purple ghost....he has stepped up to the plate to protect my only means of transportation. He's uncannily cute and so fun to play with because he's a flexy acrylic material.

Maybe if I get the time....and a camera [I've been very good about looking on eBay for pne lately...] I will do a mini series of the little guy. I know I'm in possession of a tiny Starbucks espresso mug from Germany [in english] and some other fun things he could pose with for some good wit and humor.

I love when creative people invent little stories personifying objects!

bottom line: I love little [positive] surprises in my life.