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ART TOYS: MEDICOM TOY & BE@RBRICK
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Medicom was created in 1996 and the first figurine was a Lego-shaped Kubrick in tribute to filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and his legendary movie “A Clockwork Orange”.
The year 2001 was a turning point in the history of the company. The organizers of the World Character Convention in Tokyo asked Akashi to design toys to be offered as gifts to participants. The idea was in the air. In 2002, the teddy bear celebrated its 100th birthday. Akashi was inspired by this upcoming anniversary and decides to put a bear head on the lego-shaped Kubrick’s body. That’s how Bearbrick was born. And it’s a prime example of a postmodern: recycling modern culture, changing it and creating something new.
The idea to repeat the success of Teddy was absolutely great. Over time Bearbricks became popular and the line of Bearbrick has been expanded in 4 types, 6 sizes and 8 themes. Toys are made mostly of plastic, but not so long ago they started making them out of wood and metal.
Each Bearbrick drop is categorized under 4 different Bearbrick Types:
Basic
has 9 bears of different colors, each with a letter painted on them. When the whole set is assembled you get the word bearbrick.
Standard
is about a themed selection of characters from cartoons, movies, etc.
Designer
series created in collaboration with various brands, designers, and artists.
Secret series
that is never announced in advance, so no one except the authors knows what they look like before they go on sale.
Family Bearbrick includes 8 series:
Jellybean:
bears molded from translucent plastic;
Pattern:
bears feature all-over patterns and designs;
Flag:
Bearbricks painted with a nation’s flag;
Animal:
bears based on animals;
Cute:
bears that relate to the Japanese concept of “kawaii”.
Horror:
bears based on famous horror films;
Science Fiction:
on characters and themes from popular Sci-Fi franchises;
Hero:
depict superheroes from DC and Marvel Comics.
For more than 20 years, Bearbrick’s popularity has remained unchanged in the market, all because Mediacom is constantly collaborates with many mainstream brands (Chanel, Supreme, Nike, DC, Marvel, etc.) artists (like KAWS, Keith Haring, Yue Minjun, etc.) and this is a great promotion for them.
Prices for Bearbrick can be completely different: some very rare models are in incredible demand and are constantly increasing in price. Here are the top 3 most expensive bears on StockX: Ready to Drink × A Bathing Ape (1000%) Bearbrick — $20,799; Chanel (1000%) Be@rbrick — $19,035; Karimoku Horizon (1000%) Bearbrick — $13,000.
Toy bears have a large number of fans among the celebrities: Pharrell Williams, Dj Bob Sinclar, Justin Bieber, G-Dragon, Ben Baller and others.
The world record for the largest collection of 1,008 Be@rbricks belongs to Gao Ke from China. He has been collecting bears since 2005 and in December 2020 Guinness officially certified him as the man with the most Bearbricks in the world.
Bearbrick is much more than an ordinary toy, it is a work of art. They evoke different emotions in each of us: from rejection and shock to love and admiration. One thing is for sure, Bearbrick, just like any other contemporary art, is definitely not boring and gathers many fans.
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