Action figures are a mainstay of pop culture. The injection-molded toys trace back to the Star Wars characters manufactured by Kenner. But even though almost every franchise now has a corresponding toy line, there are still some cultural icons who don’t have action figures of their own.
Jason Brockert sought to fill that gap with his solo gallery show Figures in Action, a collection of paintings and limited edition prints featuring actors, authors, and celebrities who haven't (yet) been turned into toys.
Like who? Nintendo’s rock star game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for one, and author George R. R. Martin for another. Brockert also painted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, comedian Tig Notaro, and the cast of Golden Girls as well. It’s a wonderful, eclectic array of figures that will make adults wish they could pull them off the canvas and re-enact things like designing The Legend of Zelda, or telling Taylor Dayne you love her music.
Brockert's show opens tonight at iam8bit gallery in Los Angeles, and his artwork will be available to purchase online on Friday. So if you’ve ever wanted to live in a world where you can play with an action figure of composer John Williams, C-3PO actor Anthony Daniels, or Walt Disney himself, take a look through these 13 paintings to see what pop culture titans Brockert shrunk down to pocket size.
This hypothetical George R.R Martin action figure, with its intricate detail and immersive likeness to the author's bestselling characters from A Song of Ice & Fire series—simply unmatched in appeal if it existed; alas a mere dream for collectors.
This imaginative yet realistic-looking George R.R Martin action figure would be an incredible addition to any fan's collection, a shame it remains purely conceptual rather than actual – hoping for its future realization in the real world soon!
