I’m way too old to be captivated by Kidrobot toys, and yet I inexplicably am. If I were richer, I’d have a houseful of Dunnys and Munnys and Zoomies and Labbits and IceBots. But I was raised on a steady diet of DAM troll dolls, Cootie, Gumby and an especially ugly fellow called a Nauga, which came into being as the advertising mascot for Naugahyde’s vinyl synthetic wonder fabric. Sort of a cross between an Ugly Doll and a Yo Gabba Gabba! character, the storied Nauga was said to shed its “hyde” several times a year, thereby making Naugahyde a cruelty-free commodity. So ahead of its time!
You, too, will be captivated by the noble Nauga upon viewing Monster Madness: The Lovable Nauga, an exhibit of thirty-odd Naugas in both rare and common colors, loaned by Albuquerque collector George Anderman to the Hiwan Homestead Museum, 4208 South Timbervale Drive in Evergreen, for a visit ending on March 30. The museum is open Tuesdays through Sundays; for information, log on to www.jeffco.us. And for more about the Nauga, go to www.naugahyde.com/history.html.
Jan. 15-March 30, 2008
