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Indepth Arts News:
"Girlfriend! The Barbie Sessions by David Levinthal"
1999-07-25 until 1999-10-10
San Jose Museum of Art
San Jose, CA,
USA United States of America
In honor of her 40th birthday in 1999, internationally recognized
photographer David Levinthal has created a series of photographs depicting
one of the most enduring toy icons of American culture - the Barbie doll.
Girlfriend! The Barbie Sessions by David Levinthal, will include 38
large-format Polaroid photographs that explore the many faces of Barbie,
from the fun-loving girl on the beach to the cool and glamorous seductress.
The exhibition opens at the San Jose Museum of Art on Sunday, July 25 and
runs through Sunday, October 10, 1999.
For the Barbie Series, Levinthal returns
Barbie to her fashion model roots.
Executed with a professional stylist and
dresser on the set, Levinthal's
photo-shoot features vintage Barbies
modeling casual sportswear and Parisian
haute couture dating from 1959 into the
1970s. These handmade original Barbie
fashions and accessories were directly
inspired by the celebrated designs of
industry legends, including Balenciaga,
Coco Chanel, Christian Dior, and
Givenchy. Informed by the
photo-sessions of leading fashion
photographers Richard Avedon, Horst,
and Irving Penn, the dolls are posed
before solid color backgrounds with a
minimum of props.
Since the mid-1970s, Levinthal has
photographed dolls and toys in
settings that blur the boundaries
between fact and fiction, while
tackling such controversial subjects
as Nazism, racism, and S&M
fantasies. Diminutive soldiers,
cowboys, and other figures populate
carefully crafted tableaux in such
series as Modern Romance, Mein
Kampf, Blackface, and The Wild
West.
Despite this long history of using
toys as subjects for his work,
Levinthal admits that he intentionally
avoided photographing Barbie for
many years because of her celebrity
status and the numerous stigmas
attached to her image. According to
Valerie Steele, when she was
originally conceived in 1959 as a
'Teenage Fashion Model,' the
Barbie doll combined the popular
fascination with high fashion and the
new American emphasis on the
teenager.' Barbie's attributes of
impossibly long legs, tiny waist, and
large chest have been blamed for
societal woes among females, such
as low self-esteem and eating
disorders. Despite these criticisms,
Barbie continues to survive, even
thrive, with a following approaching
cult status.
Girlfriend! The Barbie Sessions by
David Levinthal presents 38 images
from the series that was produced in
1997-98. The exhibition is curated and
organized by SJMA Assistant Curator
Patricia Hickson. Following its premiere
in San Jose, the exhibition will embark
on a two-year national tour to the
following institutions: Norton Museum of
Art, West Palm Beach, Florida; The
Museum at The Fashion Institute of
Technology, New York, New York;
Salina Art Center, Salina, Kansas; and
Birmingham Museum of Art,
Birmingham, Alabama. The exhibition is
accompanied by a publication titled
Barbie Millicent Roberts: An Original
(1998, Alfred P. Knopf/Pantheon
Press), with 75 color photographs by
Levinthal and an essay by Valerie Steele,
chief curator of The Museum at the
Fashion Institute of Technology in New
York.
The BARBIE trademark and
associated trademarks and
copyrights are owned by Mattel Inc.
and used under license. All rights
reserved. David Levinthal is not
associated with Mattel Inc.
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