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Hyper Inactive
or what I did over my summer vacation, by mel
During an email conversation with Jeff
Lester earlier this summer, I happened upon the idea of modifying a 12" action figure (or
doll, as I call 'em) into my favorite post-modern author, David Foster
Wallace. I found the perfect doll at Toys R Us, the casually dressed Totally Cool Ken Doll.
He came in a blue plaid flannel shirt and was wearing black work boots! All I needed to do was
give him his own copy of Infinite Jest, wrap a bandanna around his head, add some
glasses and he was good to go!
Once I got Dave home, I realized that he seemed lonely. He needed another neurotic pomo author to keep him company. The logical choice was Elizabeth Wurtzel, author of two pomo whinge-fests Prozac Nation and Bitch. Liz is a Teen Skipper-Sister of Barbie figure with streaked hair, extra eyeliner and a new, more provocative top that coincidentally keeps falling off...
To add intrigue and humor to the duo I decided to make a Janeane Garofolo, comedian, star of The Truth About Cats and Dogs doll. While not an author, I thought her sense of irony and low-self esteem made her the perfect third addition to the series. Janeane is a Working Out Theresa doll with shirts and shorts borrowed from Ken, I mean DFW.
And finally, I thought we needed to add some real action to the inaction figures, so I decided to attempt a Mark Leyner. I figured that the over-blown author of My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist, Et Tu Babe, and The Tetherballs of Bougainville lent himself perfectly to being made into a doll, I mean, action figure. I found an alternate version of the Totally Cool Ken, one dressed in an overly shiny black suit and wearing black italian loafers! I gave him Working Out Terry's hand weights and took her walkman and tore off the headphones to make it look more like a Game Boy and Mark Leyner, action figure, was born.