Every once in a blue
moon, an artist's story and aesthetic style will speak so closely to your soul,
you create a life-long and unbreakable bond with it the moment it enters into your
life. For me , the creations of the San Francisco based artist Calvin Ma do
just that. Blurring the lines between sculpture and art toys, Calvin has
embodied the personification of a childhood homebody turning to fantasy for
escape and creative expression. As an artist with the very exact same
introverted social difficulties myself, I can relate to Calvin and his
narrative in true rare form. I cannot wait to see what else the imagination of
Calvin has in store for the future.
"I utilize the action figure form in my sculptural work to explore
personal issues and struggles with social anxiety. As an adult, I face
difficulties in the social environment. Meeting new people, being in the
company of strangers, crowds, peers and intermittently among friends
and family brings about a heightened nervousness that takes over and
impedes my ability to function socially. Even as a child I was reserved
and apprehensive, so I turned to toys to keep me entertained. I believe
the tactile activity of playing with them coupled with my active
imagination helped establish this passion for the action figure early
on. There was something about picking up your favorite hero or villain
and creating stories and adventures that captivated me. It felt only
natural to tap into this childlike sense of exploration and storytelling
through my artwork."
Images Courtesy of [Calvin Ma]
