Pieces of Koco: Transportation Series

• Boat
• Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Whistle
• Alumni Truck
• The Plane
• Kinder Egg Chariot
• Kinder Egg Car
  

I was going for a theme here: to get from point A to point B.

The Boat
dimensions: 6.5 x 5.8 x 1.7 cm
materials: plastic
date acquired: March 26th, 2002

This item may seem like the least exciting of the bunch, but it has a great history. Once I took a guy I was dating to see De La Guarda, a off-Broadway show that was playing in Union Square, for his birthday. According to my 2001-2002 date book the date was March 26th, 2002. The performance involved people in harnesses flying around, running on walls, lots of water, dancing, balloons, and no sitting down. If you haven't seen it, watch the following clip and you'll see what I mean.

There were points in the performance when it basically rained balloons, confetti, and even little TOYS! This was like my favorite day. I had to take one to keep, some kind of vessel to carry the memories of that event with me. There were many to pick, but I settled on the boat. I remember that the birthday boy didn't seem to enjoy himself as much as I did. He said he wanted to sit, I thought it was tons of fun.

This boat traveled with me from my apartment at Cliff Street, to my apartment at John Street, then it came to Philadelphia and has been living here since then.

The Kinder Eggs Toys: The Chariot & The Car
materials: plastic
date acquired: no idea.
car dimensions: 6 x 2.1 x 1.8 cm
chariot dimensions: 8 x 2.5 x 2.7 cm

I have a thing for Kinder Eggs. I find it amazingly entertaining to put these things together following mini-instructions. The more pieces the better. Oh my god, I'm such a nerd. WARNING: These are very small and probably NOT suitable for small children. That's why Kinder Eggs are difficult (though not impossible) to find in the states. There is concern that the toys or parts might be "swallowed or inhaled" by some crazy child that likes to eat "plastic candy" and/or snort playthings ...joking, I like children! Anytime someone was going on a trip out of the states I'd tell them to pick me up a couple Kinder Eggs. That left me with a ridiculous collection of toys.

This chariot as originally had a warrior that rode in it, but somewhere along the road he went missing. He wasn't cute anyway. He was flat. The exciting bit about this and some other kinder toys is that you can make it move. When you push the wheels along one horse moves in front of the other then back again.

The car was far too easy to put together, but cute. As a side note: I've noticed a decline in the quality and intricacy of the toys over the years. What a disappointment--just like the lame Cracker Jack prizes of my lifetime (they were significantly more worthy of the word "prize" back in the day).

The Plane
dimensions: 10.5 x 5.5 x 4 cm
materials: plastic and metal
date acquired: 2002ish

In the early ohs, whenever I used to wander around town with guys I knew, we'd often end up checking out toy stores. I picked up this plane somewhere in Chinatown. I'm pretty sure I tried congee for the first time that night, but didn't really like it.

The Truck
dimensions: 8 x 4 x 3.1 cm
materials: plastic, paper, and metal
date acquired: 2000

The Alumni Truck was made by my boss at NYU when I lived at Alumni Hall. He was crafty and fabulous. Later he went on to become an interior designer, which suited him much more. He was always making something that looked just adorable, or like it came right out of a Pottery Barn catalog.

The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile Whistle
dimensions: 5.5 x 2 x 2.5 cm
materials: plastic and paper

Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener

That is what I truly want to be

'Cause if I were an Oscar Mayer wiener

Everyone would be in love with me.

Oh Yeah! The best sound comes from this when you hold it sideways and there is a hole on the top that you can leave open or put your finger over to create a higher pitched sound. I couldn't help but love this little thing when it came into my world. It's so heavy with nostalgia. What would a transportation series be without a weinermobile?!

The Transportation Series will be listed on Philadelphia's freecycle network. Freecycle, as they state on their site, is all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. I like that.

OR maybe you are reading this now and you want to start a new chapter in the history of these fun toys. Maybe you want to make a full-length Kinder Egg toy stop action movie. Maybe you'd like to blow a Oscar Mayer wiener (whistle) all around town. BUT, maybe you don't live in Philly. I can mail them to you if you are willing to pay for the shipping via paypal. Email me: koco(at)misskoco.com

The Transportation Series is part of Pieces of Koco.

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Pieces of Koco
Objects hold stories and memories. This is what gives them intrinsic value and why I have immense difficulty throwing away or getting rid of things. Ticket stubs to museums represent a whole series of inspiring ideas, a plastic spider ring is the first gift received from a first love, an old biology book actually is the hours spent studying, the smell of the massive library, and the knowledge gained. Discarding the item removes the reminder. And, until recently I believed that disposal dissolves the significance and the evidence of the memory, and my existence.

My fascination with the history of objects and the way things can map time, place, and experience led me to study art history and anthropology. My thesis projects in undergrad and graduate school focused on documentation as art. This project, Pieces of Koco, attempts to continue that work and looks to incorporate as many opportunities as possible to make connections to members of my community, to donate, and to recycle.