LIVE Magazine Vol 7, Issue #170, November 15, 2013

16
Politics, Peas and Candy Corn – The Art of
Coco Hall
Some times our past crosses with our present. When I was in college,
the rage among co-eds was Vegimals®. These soft sculpture toys were
vegetables and fruits, full of personality and always holding a surprise. My
favorite pea pod even had a cameo in the Toy Story 3 movie. Fast forward
to Highway 62 Tours 2013. A buzz in the art underground network says Coco
Hall is a “must-see”. Buzz was right.
A woman of many talents, she is a parent, sculptor, painter and author. Coco
Hall’s current works are pop-art statement pieces. Working in paper maiche,
ceramics and fabric, Coco’s work is earth-friendly, at times political, but
always reflecting the “do what I love” credo of Coco.
Coco studied abstract sculpture at Bennignton College. There she
discovered politics and the New York art scene. She also found creative
freedom with soft sculpture. Armed soft sculpture and a life long love of
toys, she established Freemountain Toys, home of Vegimals® (1975-1980),
the toys that had filled my dorm room.
Photo by Dimitri Halkidis
By Angela Romeo
Those toys, little pieces of art, still bring a smile to me. Meeting their Creator
bridged my past and present in a sentimental way. Coco’s next stop, however
was the nonsentimental HiBrow® card division of American Greetings’®.
There she worked with the late Tom Wilson Sr., creator of Ziggy®.
She remains politically active working for environmental causes, women’s
rights and animals rights. Coco’s first graphic novel, Ignoring Binky, (2001),
is a political commentary asking the question “(A)re CEOs of mega-corps
really socio-paths?” Her second graphic novel, Elephant Girl, (2009) is the
true story of San Francisco Zoo Indian elephant, Calle. Intertwined with
Calle is the story of a young girl also taken from India as child and brought
to the United States. Elephant Girl is their story of determination to break
chains and return home. This book also reflects Coco’s dedication to freeing
elephants from captivity and her active support of elephant sanctuaries.
Despite her activism and successes, Coco wanted something else. “I move
between Sausalito and Joshua Tree creating art that I like,” she said. “I do
what I love and worry less about people ‘getting’ me.” Giant cheese puffs,
oversized candy corn swaddled in fake fur, and paper maiche rifles wrapped
in organza may be lost on some, but there is no denying that Coco takes
ubiquitous forms and elevates them to things of beauty. “I am inspired by
the culture we live in, the wonderful/horribleness of it, the absurdity of
it, makes me laugh and cry. I reflect the world as I see it. I think that is an
artist’s job,” she said.
Coco is unfazed by critics. “People without ideas don’t know where ideas come
from. They steal ideas. While no one is truly original, I at least try to be.”
Coco Hall doing what she loves: creating art with surprises much like the
Vegimals® I loved in a dorm room a lifetime ago .
Additional information may be found at www.cocohall.com
Angela Romeo is the producer /host of COLLIDING WORLDS TV and COLLIDING
WORLDS RADIO. For more information visit: www.collidingworldstvandart.com
Colliding Worlds TV is available on YouTube at
www.youtube.com/user/AngelaValenteRomeo
or at Colliding Worlds Vimeo:
www.vimeo.com/collidingworldstv
Colliding Worlds TV broadcasts on KPSE (MY 13 Palm Springs California) Saturdays
at noon and Thursdays at 6:30 am
Colliding Worlds Radio, broadcasts and live streams weekly,
Saturday from 11 am to 12 pm on KPSF 1200 AM (Money Radio 1200)
Colliding Worlds is now on KMIR (Palm Springs)Saturday at 5 am and on KPSE
Thursday (Palm Springs) at 6:30 am
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www.collidingworldstvandart.com