Until 9 may 2010
Great focus and nice publicity stunt, just days before Christmas. Playmobil,
the little plastic figurine, entered the Louvre Arts Decoratifs museum.
The
decorative arts in the north wing of the Louvre. Not far away
from the Mona Lisa and Winged Victory. Vikings,
police, nurses, nurses: the museum has collected thousands of young
people and their "universe" (houses, castles, cars, pets, etc..).
What
relationship between Playmobil and hoops that we twirled around his
waist? To understand
the direction of Germany, in Geobra Brandstatter, the "nursery" of
Playmo. In the 1950s,
this small family had to put plastic toys including the hula-hoops. The bellows
falls quickly. "In the early
1970s, the boss, Horst Brandstatter, concerned about the rising price
of its raw material and seeks to better utilize the expertise of his
company's molds, said Dorothy Charles, chairman of the exhibition. Hans Beck,
designer and carpenter by training, has the mission to develop a small
figurine, economical plastic and can withstand the effects of fashion. The opposite
of hula-hoop after all. " In 1974,
leaving Germany in the first three characters: the Knight, the
construction worker and India. A year later,
the Playmobil land in France, which quickly became the second market. Today, the
range has 3 000 characters, it is estimated that it sold 2.2 billion
since 1974. The Playmobil
measuring 7.5 cm high. And as its
name suggests, early in his career, he can lift his arms, bend, sit,
turn the head so he can put things in their hands. Weapons,
tools, hats increasingly sophisticated multiply. The Indian
and the knight mounted his horse. Then the dog
appears. "To attract
girls, Hans Beck Playmobil designs a woman in 1976. Children, 5.5
cm high, born in 1981. "Ingenious
initiative now, the boys play with knights or firefighters, girls with
nurses and family 1900. Today, 100
Playmobil, 70 are used by boys, 30 for girls. On the
original drawings by Hans Beck, Playmobil has a smile so special is
that also his trademark. "The round
eyes, the smile is probably what appeared as a mat, the more neutral. Result: he
wields a rake, a bottle or a sword, he still has the same little air,
half serious, half amused. A bit like
the Mona Lisa ... Well, maybe
that's why Playmobil are in the Louvre?