Application and study of Neo-Pop Art in art toys: Monkey King

This Master's research project explored how the Chinese mythological character, the Monkey King, can be used to design art toys in a Neo-Pop Art style. China is rich in traditional culture; however, as the times have changed, young people in China have lost interest in the traditional culture. As a derivative of Neo-Pop Art, art toys have become a new creative medium for artists to communicate more directly with the public. However, the art toy market in China is currently mostly 'imported IP', while there is little academic criticism of Neo-Pop Art and art toys, and no research summarising the characteristics of Neo-Pop Art toys; therefore, the significance of this study is to fill the gap in academic research on Neo-Pop Art toys and the lack of local IP in the Chinese art toy market. The researcher adopted a qualitative research approach, interviewing 12 art toy enthusiasts. The study summarised the characteristics of Neo-Pop Art toys. Secondly, the study also verified that the Monkey King art toys had a positive impact on the promotion of traditional Chinese culture, which provides the necessary support for developing original art toy brands and local IPs in China.