During the 1960s and 70s in Japan, children tuned in every Saturday to watch movies and TV shows where super-heroes battled monsters to save cities from destruction. Japanese companies produced an array of soft vinyl kaiju (monster) toys based on their characters. Decades later, kaiju toys were rediscovered by collectors who included influential artists, musicians, designers and writers who were attracted by their fanciful, creative designs and wild, psychedelic colors. These collectors are largely responsible for starting the urban vinyl collector movement, which has been embraced by artists like KAWS, FriendsWithYou, Kenny Scharf, Yoshimoto Nara, Takashi Murakami and many others, some of whom are featured in NSU Art Museum’s current Happy! exhibition.

Professor James B. Levy, Professor at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law and a longtime collector of Japanese kaiju toys, will discuss their history, incredible popularity and ways that these toys have changed how many define art and how it is collected.

Reservations and additional information available HERE.