The SUCKLORD for "ByeBye2018 Hello2019"
WHAT-IS: "ByeBye2018 Hello2019" is a serial feature where select artists share with us their past year in 2018, and what to expect from them in 2019!"
TOYSREVIL: How was 2018 for you? Share with us your most triumphant moment(s) in 2018. What did you find the most disappointed of 2018?
THE SUCKLORD: 2018 was one of the best years in recent memory, both personally and professionally. I was having a ROUGH time in 2016-2107. Almost went bankrupt and was looking at giving up the Toy game and getting a real job! Somehow I turned it around over the course of 2017, and in 2018 I was able to do the work in a much less stressful situation, and I made some good shit. But aside from seeing my troubles get smaller in the rearview mirror, my 2 biggest triumphs were my trip to Singapore for a solo show at Kult Gallery, and finally getting back on TV with a cameo on THE GOLDBERGS.
SG was great not only because it’s a fun town with lots of cool things to do and good shit to eat, but I was also very well taken care of and appreciated. I got to do some f**kin and swimming. (some of my favorite activities). I had been in therapy for most of 2018 and was microdosing LSD over the summer and that changed my brain chemistry enough that I was able to enjoy people and things much more than my normal self-loathing, misanthropic self normally would have allowed. So I was able to have more fun than I might have in prior years. Plus there is a f**king swimming pool in the Airport!
THE SUCKLORD: As for the TV thing, even though I was only on for about 30 seconds or so, it was great to get back on the air (as a f**king Actor, no less) and get paid to do something other than labor over bootleg figures all day. It wasn’t a total victory, but rather a doorway into a larger world. TV is good for the Sucklord and I haven’t had a shot at it since 2012, so I was eager to get back. If there is any follow through on it, it will get me further into another business where I can one day take my vision to a much larger audience and start making my own films and shows beyond just DIY bootleg Youtube videos. That stuff is cool for what it is, but it’s limited. I have big ambitions, and it’s a relief to finally see some movement there when for a long time it’s only been a fantasy.
THE SUCKLORD: Biggest Bummer: The recent New York Times Article about the Bootleg Toy game, or as they put it “Artisanal Action figures.” Funny I should be complaining about getting such prestigious press, and don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it and the writer did a good job and the photos were great. BUT I feel the whole thing was mischaracterized as a big “Nostalgia trip” by “Old white guys that refuse to grow up,” instead of the important Art movement we all know it to be.
It was just another reminder that the world at large does not know how to look at this stuff and not still see, even in all it’s sophistication, anything other than “Kids Toys.” It demonstrated that there is still a long way to go before Bootleg Toys get the recognition in the Art World that they deserve. I despair that they never will. There is much work yet to be done, and I’m tired of banging on the f**king door year in and year out, but I have no choice but to continue. But I really was expecting that story to break the scene into the popular consciousness, and it didn't.
TOYSREVIL: What is your most favorite toy, or piece of art you've seen in 2018?
THE SUCKLORD: Actually, I really enjoyed the Han Solo movie. It was 100% fan service. I’m a fan, and I like to be serviced, so that was it. Too bad it didn’t perform well at the Box office and they cancelled all the future stand-alone movies. That said, I’m amazed how 40 years in, I can still get as much value out of Star Wars as I did when I was a kid. With so much changing in the world, and so much changing in me as I continue to exist year after year, it’s nice that there is a continuous line of consistency from my childhood to my adulthood that still delivers.
TOYSREVIL: What are you most looking forward to in 2019? Any plans for your work, for the new year you can share with us?
THE SUCKLORD: I don’t know. All the things that can be potentially big and groundbreaking are still in the speculative phase. I never talk about plans until the check is cut and the dates are booked, so nothing. I plan to just keep blasting straight ahead, keeping the toys fresh and pushing then into new territory. I am finally attending AVN, the big Porn convention in Vegas this month, with a figure of a porn star named April O’neil. Wood Rocket, the company famous for all the wild porn parodies is bringing me out to show the fig, which is based on their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles parody TEN INCH MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. That’s new and exciting. I do have some interesting ideas for a Suckadelic porno universe, so this is a first step in that direction.
THE SUCKLORD: Beyond that, I am still chugging away at getting TOY LORDS of CHINATOWN Part 5 Done. It’s been a few Years Since the last one, so hopefully that will be close to, if not totally finished this year. Then it concludes with episode 6. After that who knows? I just signed a 3 year lease in the Chinatown headquarters this month, so I suspect I will continue to be the Local Toy Lord for that much longer. This thing can’t go on like this forever. Something bigger is gonna take it’s place one day, and I may leave New York altogether, so get it while you can…
PART 4 THROWBACK:
TOYSREVIL: Of the nearly 14 years (this year) in bloggery, I have a handful of toy-heroes* (*I do not use that word lightly) I look toward for inspiration (Doesn't mean I love all his stuff ~ Sorry buddy), and perhaps a little pizzazz that sparks the toyjoy in my toylife, and one of them is The Sucklord. Without inhaling too deep his cyber-manhood, ever since blogging about his schtick since 2007 (1st tagged blogpost), I've had the opportunity and honour to meet the man personally on his trip to Singapore for Bootleg toy Supervillain, and not too ironically I'd really want to chat about things other than "toys" (which my addled brains inevitable automatically switches to - something I have come to abhor), and had the chance to, and I am exceedingly grateful.
This is not about a "cult of personality", or the desire to fulfil a morbid curiosity, but in meeting a person that rings a certain level of "truth" amidst the hustle and hype ... a truth I appreciate, and that is/was important to me.
It might not be as huge as folks might see, but I acknowledge the impact it had on me, and how I intend to move forward with the blog, in the coming days/weeks/months. The f88kin Sucklord really sucks, and I am gagging on my knees LOL
Stay connected to the Bootleg Toy King and D-List Reality TV Star via his suckadelic.com / Insta sucklord / Twitter @SUCKLORD / BUY HIS SH*T!
TOYSREVIL: How was 2018 for you? Share with us your most triumphant moment(s) in 2018. What did you find the most disappointed of 2018?
THE SUCKLORD: 2018 was one of the best years in recent memory, both personally and professionally. I was having a ROUGH time in 2016-2107. Almost went bankrupt and was looking at giving up the Toy game and getting a real job! Somehow I turned it around over the course of 2017, and in 2018 I was able to do the work in a much less stressful situation, and I made some good shit. But aside from seeing my troubles get smaller in the rearview mirror, my 2 biggest triumphs were my trip to Singapore for a solo show at Kult Gallery, and finally getting back on TV with a cameo on THE GOLDBERGS.
SG was great not only because it’s a fun town with lots of cool things to do and good shit to eat, but I was also very well taken care of and appreciated. I got to do some f**kin and swimming. (some of my favorite activities). I had been in therapy for most of 2018 and was microdosing LSD over the summer and that changed my brain chemistry enough that I was able to enjoy people and things much more than my normal self-loathing, misanthropic self normally would have allowed. So I was able to have more fun than I might have in prior years. Plus there is a f**king swimming pool in the Airport!
THE SUCKLORD: As for the TV thing, even though I was only on for about 30 seconds or so, it was great to get back on the air (as a f**king Actor, no less) and get paid to do something other than labor over bootleg figures all day. It wasn’t a total victory, but rather a doorway into a larger world. TV is good for the Sucklord and I haven’t had a shot at it since 2012, so I was eager to get back. If there is any follow through on it, it will get me further into another business where I can one day take my vision to a much larger audience and start making my own films and shows beyond just DIY bootleg Youtube videos. That stuff is cool for what it is, but it’s limited. I have big ambitions, and it’s a relief to finally see some movement there when for a long time it’s only been a fantasy.
THE SUCKLORD: Biggest Bummer: The recent New York Times Article about the Bootleg Toy game, or as they put it “Artisanal Action figures.” Funny I should be complaining about getting such prestigious press, and don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it and the writer did a good job and the photos were great. BUT I feel the whole thing was mischaracterized as a big “Nostalgia trip” by “Old white guys that refuse to grow up,” instead of the important Art movement we all know it to be.
It was just another reminder that the world at large does not know how to look at this stuff and not still see, even in all it’s sophistication, anything other than “Kids Toys.” It demonstrated that there is still a long way to go before Bootleg Toys get the recognition in the Art World that they deserve. I despair that they never will. There is much work yet to be done, and I’m tired of banging on the f**king door year in and year out, but I have no choice but to continue. But I really was expecting that story to break the scene into the popular consciousness, and it didn't.
TOYSREVIL: What is your most favorite toy, or piece of art you've seen in 2018?
THE SUCKLORD: Actually, I really enjoyed the Han Solo movie. It was 100% fan service. I’m a fan, and I like to be serviced, so that was it. Too bad it didn’t perform well at the Box office and they cancelled all the future stand-alone movies. That said, I’m amazed how 40 years in, I can still get as much value out of Star Wars as I did when I was a kid. With so much changing in the world, and so much changing in me as I continue to exist year after year, it’s nice that there is a continuous line of consistency from my childhood to my adulthood that still delivers.
TOYSREVIL: What are you most looking forward to in 2019? Any plans for your work, for the new year you can share with us?
THE SUCKLORD: I don’t know. All the things that can be potentially big and groundbreaking are still in the speculative phase. I never talk about plans until the check is cut and the dates are booked, so nothing. I plan to just keep blasting straight ahead, keeping the toys fresh and pushing then into new territory. I am finally attending AVN, the big Porn convention in Vegas this month, with a figure of a porn star named April O’neil. Wood Rocket, the company famous for all the wild porn parodies is bringing me out to show the fig, which is based on their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles parody TEN INCH MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. That’s new and exciting. I do have some interesting ideas for a Suckadelic porno universe, so this is a first step in that direction.
THE SUCKLORD: Beyond that, I am still chugging away at getting TOY LORDS of CHINATOWN Part 5 Done. It’s been a few Years Since the last one, so hopefully that will be close to, if not totally finished this year. Then it concludes with episode 6. After that who knows? I just signed a 3 year lease in the Chinatown headquarters this month, so I suspect I will continue to be the Local Toy Lord for that much longer. This thing can’t go on like this forever. Something bigger is gonna take it’s place one day, and I may leave New York altogether, so get it while you can…
TOY LORDS OF CHINATOWN EPISODE 4 from SUPER SUCKLORD on Vimeo.
TOYSREVIL: Of the nearly 14 years (this year) in bloggery, I have a handful of toy-heroes* (*I do not use that word lightly) I look toward for inspiration (Doesn't mean I love all his stuff ~ Sorry buddy), and perhaps a little pizzazz that sparks the toyjoy in my toylife, and one of them is The Sucklord. Without inhaling too deep his cyber-manhood, ever since blogging about his schtick since 2007 (1st tagged blogpost), I've had the opportunity and honour to meet the man personally on his trip to Singapore for Bootleg toy Supervillain, and not too ironically I'd really want to chat about things other than "toys" (which my addled brains inevitable automatically switches to - something I have come to abhor), and had the chance to, and I am exceedingly grateful.
This is not about a "cult of personality", or the desire to fulfil a morbid curiosity, but in meeting a person that rings a certain level of "truth" amidst the hustle and hype ... a truth I appreciate, and that is/was important to me.
It might not be as huge as folks might see, but I acknowledge the impact it had on me, and how I intend to move forward with the blog, in the coming days/weeks/months. The f88kin Sucklord really sucks, and I am gagging on my knees LOL
Stay connected to the Bootleg Toy King and D-List Reality TV Star via his suckadelic.com / Insta sucklord / Twitter @SUCKLORD / BUY HIS SH*T!
WHO-IS: "The Sucklord is a New York City Pop Artist and Television Personality known for his subversive Action Figure mashups and Reality TV Persona. Operating under the Brand SUCKADELIC, The Sucklord’s Line of self-manufactured Bootleg Toys steal shamelessly from STAR WARS, Vintage Advertising and All manner of Pop Culture Trash. Packaged in layers of ironic self-Mockery, His shoddy looking wares have inspired an entire secondary Art movement, with dozens of entrepreneurial Toy Bootleggers creating their own versions of highly referential, low-Rent interpretations of their favorite figures. The Suck-aesthetic carries over into the Sucklord’s Media Enterprise with the thoughtful-yet-raunchy Talk show, The SUCKHOUR and The Lo-Fi Sci-Fi Serial, TOY LORDS of CHINATOWN. The Sucklord has appeared on Several Reality TV programs such As BRAVO’S Work of Art: The Next Great Artist and The Dating Game, using those venues as an opportunity to create spectacular pieces of Live Performance Art. Recently The Sucklord has increased the scale of his work, putting oversized Blister-carded figures in Tokyo Art Galleries, the homes of the famously wealthy, and the Walls of downtown New York City."
