Bored Panda once again reached out to the artist. He shared more about himself.
“My name is Rosemberg, and Forbidden Toys is my latest project. As a conceptual artist, I have been leaving toys and other works on the street (and I still do), and I have formal studies in photography and film, although I can’t help but develop as many projects as I can. In one way or another, toys permeate all of my work.”
We were curious to learn about Rosemberg’s creative process. He responded: “I usually carry a notebook with me in which I write and draw, which helps me both to remember and to develop ideas. Regarding the images of Forbidden Toys, when I decide on a concept, the first thing I do is draw the kind of image I want, and then I wrestle with DALL·E 3 and Midjourney until I manage to generate all the elements I need for the image. Dealing with AI reminds me (in cinematic terms) of having to give orders to a brilliant art team that, at the same time, is incapable of understanding what it means to be human. Once I have all the pieces of the puzzle, I use editing programs to try to bring the image as close as possible to the idea I had in mind, which is the longest part of the process.”
We asked Rosemberg whether he had ever scrapped a controversial toy idea after starting it.
The artist wrote: “I have left some half-finished images aside after realizing that they deviated too much from my usual tone and conceptual load. I’ve never backed away from an idea because it seemed too controversial to me, although now I try to choose carefully what I upload to Instagram because several photos have been taken down, and I don’t want my account to be closed; all the removed photos can be seen on my website.”
All controversial topics or ideas involve unseen boundaries that even the artist might hesitate to cross. We asked if this is the case for Rosemberg as well, or if he believes everything is fair game in the name of creativity.
“This is a nuanced issue that would deserve many more lines than we can dedicate here, but, in a succinct and colloquial way, I would say that I believe in freedom of expression in its most absolute form, both inside and outside of art. Since any idea is susceptible to being considered inappropriate, I don’t believe there is an authority high enough to judge its mere expression,” shared Rosemberg.
Rosenberg also shared what he would like for audiences to take away from his work.
“What I intend with the Forbidden Toys project is to give the impression that it's a toy that could have existed and then provoke reflection: who in their right mind could have conceived something like this, what purpose it might have, how it would work, etc. Aside from that, I’ve noticed that I have three types of audiences: those who appreciate my specific intent, those who think they are real objects, and those who are scandalized by moral issues—all three are wonderful.”
Lastly, he added: “For information on purchasing sculptures or prints, please contact @anneezerogalerie or visit my website, and thank you very much for reading.”
