ABOUT
Hi, I'm Marty Allen, a multi-disciplinary artist and writer living in Brooklyn. I've been making and selling pictures of sock puppets for over a decade.
In 2005 I moved to New York and noticed that several people were selling their art in Union Square Park. I filled a green suitcase with small framed photographs of sock puppets, dragged it through the subway and planted it on a TV tray in the park, and a bizarre career was born.
Over the years I've created hundreds of portraits. They all have names and stories. Some have songs, others star in videos, many are tied to my multimedia band, it's a whole thing.
Somewhere along the way I relented to public pressure and started selling the puppets, too.
Over the years, I've diversified a lot, but the puppets and their portraits are still a cornerstone of my work as a writer and artist. My first book, Sock Puppet Madness, was published as a direct result of this mad pursuit, and I couldn't begin to articulate how many strange and wonderful collaborations and situations have been born of it.
Get a more in-depth look at all the things I make and do via my more broadly-focused Martystuff site, here.
This is me on Instagram: