出生年:1992
托比是隻黑、紅、白相間、富冒險精神的貓,無條件的付出他的愛。他是所有人的好朋友,也是秘密的守護者,貝斯曼創作托比的靈感源自於某些神秘組織(如兄弟會等),而在托比的肚子上有顆全知之眼,頭上戴著土耳其氈帽,上面還有個骷髏符號。托比其實也可看做是貝斯曼的「另一個我」,這點可從藝術家及托比下巴上都留著一小截鬍子看出來,他的命名來自比貝斯曼年長五歲的童年好友兼保姆,。
Year created: 1992
Toby is the black, red, and white adventurous cat that loves unconditionally. A best friend and keeper of secrets, he is a character inspired by secret societies (like the Shriners, Masons, and Odd Fellows) known for their clandestine brotherhood activities. On his belly is an all-seeing eye, and on his head is a fez with a skull symbol. Toby is Baseman’s alter ego, identifiable by the soul patch that the artist once wore. Toby’s namesake comes from one of Baseman’s childhood friends, a girl five years older who babysat him and who was one of the artist’s early best friends.
出生年:1999
呆好運是一隻兔子,掌上捧著象徵幸運的兔子腿,是從他自己身上切下來,隨時準備送給有緣人的,呆好運個性呆儍、天真、好運又樂觀,象徵的是生命中的諷刺之處。他最著名的口頭禪就是:「小心地許你的願望!」
Year created: 1999
Dumb Luck is a rabbit that holds a lucky rabbit’s foot; the one he cut off his own leg. Goofy, naïve, lucky, and optimistic, he represent life’s ironies: “Be careful what you wish for.”
出生年:2002 【儍蛋一族】創意構想來自20世紀中期流行的同名桌上遊戲,貝斯曼創造了一系列的同名角色。貝斯曼的就學過程中,班上若有學生調皮搗蛋,就會被罰坐在角落,頭戴看起來儍呼呼的圓錐形帽子,貝斯曼於是顛覆傳統的儍蛋意思,以他獨特的幽默及趣味,以學生常用來互相取笑的綽號,幫自己的角色命名,分別是「慢吞吞」(他總是遲到)、「溝溝」、「愛說謊」、「好寶寶穿鞋子」、「模仿貓」及「稀巴爛」等。 Year created: 2002 Baseman created the character set of Dunces inspired by the mid-20th century board game of the same name. Subverting the original meaning of a dunce, a student who behaves badly and gets punished by wearing a conical dunce cap and sits in the corner, Baseman added humor and fun. Adapting typical names that school children use to tease each other, Baseman calls the Dunces Re-tardy (always late), Ditch, Fib, Goody2Shoes, Copy Cat, and Pulp.
出生年:2004
綿綿是一霜淇淋,他的堂地則是枝冰棒雪糕,象徵了【快樂儍瓜】系列畫作中,為愛和美而犠牲的天真角色。綿綿性格貼心、天真單純,卻只能遠遠的愛著得不到的美人,也會為了無限女孩、美人魚及其他的神秘女孩角色而融化。
Created: 2004
Creamy, the ice cream cone, and his cousin, a popsicle, symbolize the simpleton characters that sacrifice themselves for love and beauty in Baseman’s painting series The Happy Idiot. Creamy is sweet and naïve, forever longing for someone unattainable. He loves from afar, and creams himself when he gets excited over the Infinity Girls., mermaids, and all the mystical girls of the land.
出生年:2004
快樂儍瓜是一座雪人,為了能讓自己心愛的美人魚有水可以存活,而甘願讓自己融化成一灘清水,是貝斯曼眾多願意為了愛而犠牲自我的角色之一,最初靈感來自於貝斯曼的一趟日本之旅。快樂儍瓜也是貝斯曼首次將角色製成陶瓷雕塑的作品。
Year created: 2004
Happy Idiot is a snowman who melts himself down to create a puddle of water for his beloved mermaid to live in. Originally conceived during a trip to Japan, the Happy Idiot was one of many characters that eagerly melted themselves for the sake of unattainable beauty. Happy Idiot is also one of Baseman’s first fine art sculptures, made of porcelain.
智者永生不滅、沉默無語,他們扮演了記憶的守護者,最常出現在【咻咻森林中的捉迷藏】系列畫作中,他們也會收集身體融化、四處散落的咻咻頭,讓他們置放到安全的地點,以防被惡魔偷去取食大腦。
智者們也曾在《托比的秘密集會》中,以公仔造型出現,分別命名為「慈悲」、「命運」、「自由」、「慾求」、「愛」、「信任」和「真理」,他們的名字分別以拉丁文寫在穿著的服裝上,唯一的例外是其中的慈悲智者,靈感則源於藝術家的貓;「午夜智者」(2005)掌管每個人最黑暗的惡夢,而「死亡智者」(2009),則負責管理夢中的現實。
Ever-present and silent, Magis are the keeper of memories. They appear in the series Hide and Seek in the Forest of ChouChou – collecting disembodied ChouChou heads and bringing them to a safe resting place. Otherwise, Demons crack open the ChouChou heads and eat their brains.
Magis also appear in “Toby’s Secret Society” (2011), representing Compassion, Destiny, Freedom, Lust, Love, Trust, and Truth. These words are written on their vestments in Latin (with one exception, Purr for Compassion; inspired by the artist’s cat). Midnight Magi (2005) is the keeper of one’s darkest nightmares. Muerto Magi (2009) is the keeper of one’s dream reality.
出生年:2005
瑪莉蓮是托比的現任女友,此一角色甜美又天真,和貝斯曼第一任女友同名。
Year created: 2005
Marilyn is Toby’s girlfriend. Sweet and innocent, she also shares the name of Baseman’s first girlfriend.
出生年:2005
英雄氣概、永生不滅的愛之神,全身由大小不一的氣泡組成,以愛之神的姿態,帶著愛與關懷的能量,賦予大地及所有生物滿滿的熱情及希望。
在「咻咻森林」及「綿綿之愛丘陵」出現之前,愛之神的故事早已傳開:在一片臭氣薰天、貧瘠不堪的土地上,住著無法接受愛與關懷的生物,他們的慾求及渴望都被仇恨邪魔給偷走了,他們像是遊魂一般無意義的活著。然而,有股力量悄悄地將愛的欲念,化現成一顆顆的欲望轉化的小氣泡,漂浮傳播於這片被邪魔佔據的土地,然後這些氣泡開始串聯,合成了愛之神的英雄之身,並將邪魔徹底逐出這個世界。
Year created: 2005
Heroic and ever-present, the God of Love is made up of bubbles in various sizes. He spreads passion and affection to those who have lost the capacity for love and desire.
His story began thousands of years before the Forest of ChouChou and Creamy Goodness existed, during a time when creatures were unable to give or accept love because the Demons of Hate stole everyone’s sense of desire and longing, causing them to live like drones with no meaning, direction, or hope. Yet, hidden from sight, a force urged the formation of Manifestation of Desire (MOD) bubbles. Brimming with the energy of love and affection, these bubbles grew in all sizes and colors, floating and spreading throughout the land overrun by Demons.
In defense against the Demons, the bubbles joined together, forming the body of the God of Love that ousted the Demons from the forest.
出生年:2005
恰恰恰小惡魔有三隻腳,專偷天使的光圈。他是貝斯曼【超世歡愉的花園】系列作品中的主要角色,這座花園充滿著頑皮罪惡和放蕩,靈感源於15、16 世紀的畫家—希羅尼穆斯‧波希。恰恰恰小惡魔的特色是,雖然身型最小,卻能以無比的魅力說服天使交出他們的光圈。
Year created: 2005
Hotchachacha is a devil with three legs that deflowers angels by stealing their haloes. He is the main character in Baseman’s otherworldly landscape of the Garden of Unearthly Delights, a land of playful sin and debauchery, inspired by the art of 15th- and 16th-century artist Hieronymus Bosch. Once the tiniest devil, Hotchachacha overcompensates with great charm and is able to encourage angels to surrender their haloes.
出生年:2006
溫和善良的咻咻族靈感源自貝斯曼飼養多年的黑貓—小黑,在藝術家忙碌的生活中,小黑貓發揮了一種穩定心靈的力量。但在早期的作品中,咻咻是以類似小海豹的樣貌。
忠實良善、富有愛心的咻咻族,住在咻咻森林中,將他們的愛及關注奉獻給同住在森林中的荒野女孩,消除荒野女孩心中的負面能量及仇恨,當咻咻吸取負面能量,他們的肚臍會流出的「綿綿之愛」,他們也會因此身體融化、面臨死亡,在他們的頭顱乾涸之前,除非有一心地純潔、善良無恨的女孩回饋一吻,才得以復活重生。
Year created: 2006
The gentle, compassionate ChouChou manifested in 2006, inspired by Baseman’s purring cat Blackie - a calming force in the artist’s life. Earlier versions of ChouChou show him as a seal.
Loving and caring, ChouChous live in the Forest of the ChouChou, dedicating their love and attention to the Wild Girls, from whom they take away negative energy and hate. When a ChouChou absorbs negative energy, he oozes Creamy Gooey Love from his bellybutton. His little body then melts and, unless a girl kisses his head, his skull dries out and he dies. Only a girl of pure of love and absent of hate can kiss him to regenerate his physical body so that he can live again.
出生年:2006
鹿女是一位生活在原野的少女,喜歡在森林中玩耍,並將自己的頭髮編成鹿角狀。鹿女能以舌頭舔舐所愛對象的傷口,讓他們回復健康,但有時也會忍不住將其吃掉。
Year created: 2006
Venison is a wild girl who plays in the forest and puts branches in her hair to look like a deer. She licks the wounds of her loved ones to nurture them back to health, only to later devour them.
出生年:2007
角色性格:純真、勇敢、有愛心。
吻痕小蝠是隻勇敢又純真的角色,先後出現於【我在你面前融化】、【在咻咻森林中玩捉迷藏】等系列作品中。牠是一隻水果蝙蝠,卻一心一意想要成為吸血蝙蝠,但牠根本無力咬破對象皮膚,只能留下類似吻痕的另類印記。
Year created: 2007
Brave and innocent, Hickey appears in the landscape paintings of I Melt in Your Presence and Hide and Seek in the Forest of ChouChou. Hickey is a fruit bat who longs to be a vampire bat. He can’t break one’s skin, so he only leaves hickeys (bruises) behind.
出生年:2008
角色性格:有愛心、富關懷的三頭龍,象徵一種父母們強調安全、守護的任務。有趣的是,在貝斯曼四歲時,嗚嘎其實是「蛋糕」的代名詞,當時他與父母正在以色列拜訪親戚,每當想吃海棉蛋糕時,就會不斷重覆「嗚嘎」一詞。三頭龍造型的嗚嘎,一方面代表了貝斯曼父母的宗教信仰及價值觀,以及他們想要保護子女的執著;另一方面,貝斯曼呈現對抗嗚嘎的形象,卻也象徵為了找出自我人生方向,必須違背父母心願的個人堅持。
Year created: 2008
Ooga is a caring three-headed dragon that for Baseman symbolizes parental beliefs of security and protection. Referencing Baseman’s own life experiences, Ooga translates into “cake,” a word that four year-old Baseman repeated over and over again when he wanted more spongecake while visiting relatives in Israel. Ooga represents Baseman’s parents (their religion and values) and their desire to protect him. Baseman tries to slay Ooga, to find his own way, sometimes going against his parents’ wishes.
出生年:2009
角色介紹:純真而聰穎,能消除世界上的仇恨。「頓悟的咻」本名為「啊」,是課堂中最聰明的一位,隨時戴著三個小頭是他的造型特色。當他所居住的森林被惡魔佔領並製作混亂,他和自己的三位同伴保護了居住的土地,他頭上的三顆小頭即是自己犠牲的朋友們,而他身上的刺青是對於苦難經驗的一種紀念。
Year created: 2009
Intelligent and innocent, the Enlightened Chou takes away the collective negativity and hate in the world. Originally named Ah, the Enlightened Chou was once the brightest and smallest in his class. When the forest is overrun by Demons that create great chaos, he and his three companions defend the land. On his head, the Enlightened Chou wears the heads of his three friends who make the ultimate sacrifice; on his body are tattoos that memorialize the plight that he experienced.
出生年:2010年
角色來源:巴金翰戰士這個自律嚴謹、性格堅強的角色,靈感源自藝術家的父親—班.貝斯曼;二次大戰之時,他逃入東波蘭的森林中,加入對抗俄國入侵的游擊隊長達三年的時間。蓋瑞.貝斯曼的雙親雖然倖為猶太屠殺歷史慘劇的生還者,但他們其實已痛失大部份的家人,貝斯曼創造了巴金翰戰士的形象,並以父母親的故鄉為同角色公仔取名,以紀念這一段悲愴的歷史。
性格:英勇的自由鬥士,以堅強的意志,為正義而奮戰不屈。
某天,森林裡來了貪婪、企圖覇佔森林的一名男爵以及一群惡徒黨羽,有隻名叫巴金翰的雄鹿,勇敢挺身反抗男爵。巴金翰搖身一變成為勇敢的戰士,雖然擊斃了許多惡人,但本身也慘被敵人殺害。他絕不服輸的強大靈魂,讓他不僅死而復生,也讓重生的他多了好幾個頭顱,且更有神力保衛家園,並成為不朽的神話傳奇!
Year created: 2010
A stoic, strong-willed defender of justice, the Buckingham Warrior was inspired by Baseman’s father, Ben Baseman, who escaped into the woods of Eastern Poland during World War II, and fought as a partisan for three years. Both of the artist’s parents were Holocaust survivors, and lost most of their family members during the war. The names of the Buckingham Warrior toys (Berezne and Kostopol, for example) honor the original hometown areas of Baseman’s parents.
As the story goes: Buckingham lived in symbiosis with all the creatures of the land, until one day, the brave deer protested against the unwanted occupation of the forest by a greedy land baron and his malevolent henchmen. The Buckingham Warrior bravely fought off the assailants but eventually had his head lopped off by an evildoer. In an act of pure otherworldly defiance, the Buckingham Warrior grew his head back, as well as several other heads. The deer stood his ground, thereby cementing his legend as a freedom fighter.
出生年:2010
貝斯曼搜集各種戴面具、穿著奇裝的人物舊照片,「小死亡」的創作靈感即來自一張1950年代的萬聖節團體照,其中一位頭戴面具、身穿特殊手製鬼魅服裝的小女孩。
小小咘小姐一角首次出現在貝斯曼一次名為【穿牆而過】的展覽之中,藝術家透過這個角色來探索回憶與生死的主題,也紀念已過世的父親。
Year created: 2010
Lil Miss Boo is inspired by Baseman’s collection of vintage photographs of people in masks and costumes. She is a “real” little girl dressed up in a homemade ghost costume. The original ghost girl appears in a group photo of neighborhood kids in Halloween costumes in the 1950s.
Lil Miss Boo made her debut as a character in Walking through Walls, an exhibition that reflected upon memory and mortality painted shortly after the death of Baseman’s father.
出生年:2011
猴子阿嗚的取名來自動物嚎叫「嗷嗚~」的聲音,他有著既貼心又邪惡的雙重個性,喜愛被注意,也渴求旁人的關愛,但如果需求無法獲得滿足,就會變成嚇人的吸血猴。阿嗚的靈感來源也是藝術家的貓,牠個性貼心,卻也需要別人注意,有時造成傷害,只為達到自己的目的。
Year created: 2011
Pronounced “ah-wrooo,” like an animal howling, the adorable but vicious Ahwroo seeks attention and affection, and draws blood if he feels that he is not getting adequate love. Inspired by the artist’s cat that is sweet but demanding of attention, he asserts his needs by inflicting pain and injury.
出生年:2010
一種毛絨絨、有點暴牙的生物;專偷小女生的心,並以此為食。心中充滿對愛的渴望,噶卻總是很不幸的對旁人造成傷害。
Year created: 2010
Grrrr is a furry snaggle-toothed creature that steals and then eats the hearts of little girls. Lovelorn and longing, he sadly causes harm to those around him.
《酷狗上學記》是貝斯曼創作的艾美獎得獎動畫作品:主角是隻名為斑斑的狗,因為太想學習而戴上了眼鏡及毛線帽,假扮成名叫史考特的男孩去上學,他成為自己小主人-李奧納德的四年級班上,最受老師竉愛的學生,在每一集影片中,他都嚐試不同新鮮事,斑斑/史考特對所有事充滿熱誠,各方面都努力讓自己成為最棒的。
*貝斯曼因《酷狗上學記》於2003年榮獲美國影視大奬-艾美獎「傑出動畫人士」,該動畫也獲得艾美獎「傑出特殊動畫節目」及英國影藝學院所頒發的「最佳國際兒童節目」等獎項。
Teacher’s Pet is the Emmy award-winning animation series about a dog named Spot who wants to go to school so badly that he disguises himself as a boy (Scott) by donning on a pair of eyeglasses and a beanie cap. He becomes the best student and the teacher’s pet in his own master Leonard’s 4th grade class. In every episode, he experiences events for the first time. Spot/Scott has zealous enthusiasm, and the drive to be the smartest and best at everything.
*Gary Baseman won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual in Animation in 2003. Teacher’s Pet has won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and the BAFTA for Best International Children's Programming.