Whimsicraft is an aesthetic that flourished from the mid 1980’s to the mid 1990’s that is composed of saturated colors, celestial symbols, heavy patterns, and handmade crafts. It describes “things you would see at an art fair in 1994” and it is “the aesthetic of the 'fun quirky artsy aunt' character in 90s media.” The aesthetic was first identified by Evan Collins, one of the founding members of the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, who is the guest for this week’s episode. Joseph and Nathan begin by interviewing Evan about his history with CARI before diving into an exploration of Whimsicraft. Amongst other things they discuss how the art teacher depicted in Ghost World is emblematic of the wacky ‘90s art teacher trope, how the intro for the HBO kids Original series Crash Box demonstrates the darker found object subaesthetic of Whimsicraft, and how the Cows on Parade art event in the Summer of 1999 served as the culmination of the Whimsicraft ethos and aesthetic. 

Links:

Whimsicraft Pinterest board: https://pin.it/2RP8NSgW3 

Evan’s Whimsicraft Are.na: https://www.are.na/evan-collins-1522646491/whimsicraft

Evan’s Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute Patreon page

Evan’s Bluesky

Whimsicraft CARI page

Whimsigothic CARI page

Whimsicraft by hellomynamesjon

Whose art teacher died in Ohio?

Mix It Up! All About Courtly Check from MacKenzie-Childs

Victoria Mckenzie-Childs’ Youtube account

Victoria MacKenzie-Childs shows her Kitchen

Harriet The Spy (1996) wind chime garden scene

Crashbox (1999) intro

Cows On Parade Chicago 1999

Cows Milked for All Their Worth

Artwork:

Bazaar Bizzoso Entrance - Atlanta, GA (1993)

Recorded on 3/9/2025