I’ll be the first to admit that I appreciate a dose of absurdism in my life. I like weird movies and funny hats and people who wear bowties to daytime events without a note of irony. The weirdness that people bring to everyday life almost always makes me think that humanity might be ok after all, which is probably why the Les Petits Joueurs Mondrian Lego Suede Clutch makes me smile. Except for the price, naturally.
Famous works of art made out of children’s toys are on-face funny in a way that requires no explanation, but the joke here is better if you have some background on famed Dutch painter Piet Mondrian, whose work graces this clutch. Mondrian was part of an early 20th century art movement called neoplasticism, but that doesn’t mean that plastic was involved in the painting. (Mondrian painted on canvas.) So this is Mondrian’s neoplastic work on actual plastic, and the fact that this little joke makes me giggle probably tells you all you need to know about how utterly lame I am.
On another level, I also thoroughly enjoy the bizarre combination of Dutch fine art and children’s toys that I associate with my 80s American upbringing, and it strikes me that the angular, colorful medium of Legos is a pretty perfect re-imagining of Mondrian’s work. I would absolutely wear this weird little clutch if someone were to give it to me, or if I were to find it in a secondhand store. I won’t pay the asking price, so for now, I’ll smile at it from afar. Buy for $1254 through Luisa Via Roma.
