Art Doll - Troy Gua's Le Petit Prince

Troy Gua's Le Petit Prince

From by Chris Martins of Spin.com: In late 2011, Seattle artist Troy Gua combined his love for the outsize character of pop icon and musical genius Prince and the surreal puppetry of "supermarionation" pioneer Gerry Anderson (Thunderbirds), and launched the Le Petit Prince project. He built a 1/6 scale version of the Purple One, sewed up some "tiny sets of funky clothes," and shot the miniature Artist in some of his most iconic poses. Quite naturally, the photo series took off.

But as of Friday, November 16, 2012 at 4 p.m. PST, Le Petit Prince was erased from the Internet. As Gua announced via LPP's Facebook page, the real Prince's handlers hit him with what sounds like a very unpleasant cease and desist letter. "I will, of course, comply with their demands, whether I agree with them as matters of artistic freedom or not," he wrote, before this rather heartbreaking addition: "I simply do not wish to fight with my hero, and it is terribly disheartening to think that he may hold ill will towards me and this project."

It should be noted that despite considerable demand, the dolls have never been for sale and the images were distributed freely. He had plans for a photo book and exhibition, but all of that should've been protected by fair use, considering these are an artist's interpretations of a pop icon, delivered as a combination of satire and tribute. However, in order to fund the project's potential IRL outcroppings, Gua had begun to sell a Le Petit Prince calendar, a couple of Prince-inspired art prints, and a T-shirt made from one of those.

As an intro to the LPP section of his website, Gua had initially written: "There is ONLY ONE Le Petit Prince, and he's NOT FOR SALE. As for the possibility of reproduction, I have no intention or desire to break any laws or piss off my hero, so without the express consent and cooperation from Prince himself, I will not be reproducing this artwork in doll form. I would love nothing more than to put Le Petit Prince in the hands of true fans, but without Prince, it can’t happen. Prince, if you’re out there, I’d love to hear from you."

He wrote that while he had originally intended to make only one outfit for his hairy little buddy, fans online began requesting looks from different eras, eventually resulting in the extensive collection of remade album covers and photo shoots. From the world-anointed arbiter of cool, Questlove: "Troy is a gifted artist with amazing vision and detail. The thoroughness in his works shines amazingly through. Truly in awe of his work and expect even more awesome things in the future."