Saturday, 17 May 2014

Stuck On Colorforms, The Two-Dimensional Toy Beloved By Mid-Century Modern Kids

image credit: Joe Lencioni

Colorforms, invented by Harry and Patricia Kislevitz in 1951, are paper-thin, die-cut vinyl sheet images and shapes that are meant to be applied to a shiny plastic laminated board, much like placing paper dolls against a paper backdrop. The images stick to the background by adhesion, which takes place when two highly polished surfaces come in contact. The Colorforms vinyl pieces can be repositioned to create new scenarios.

Recently, Collectors Weekly was fortunate enough to speak with Patricia Kislevitz. Harry and Patricia, both of whom were artists, first started playing around with the solid-colored vinyl material, which was delivered in rolls to their apartment on 29th Street in New York, when Harry was looking for a less expensive alternative to oil and acrylic paint.

(thanks Ben)

1 comment(s):

Ima said...

Oh, yeaaaah...throw in some Shrinky Dinks and let's have a partay!