One of the more famous suppressed films of recent years is Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, an early work by writer/director Todd Haynes (Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Far from Heaven). Filmed in 1987, the short film -- which relates the rise and fall of Karen Carpenter with a cast of Barbie dolls -- barely got a year's worth of festival time in 1989 before the twin iron boots of A&M Records and Richard Carpenter came down on Haynes.* [more inside]
posted by Trurl
on Dec 31, 2011 -
29 comments
Kokeshi Dolls originated in North-East Japan as wooden toys for children. They began being produced towards the end of the Edo period (1603~1868) by woodwork artisans, called Kiji-shi, who normally made bowls, trays and other tableware by using a lathe. They began to make small dolls in the winter to sell to visitors who came to bathe in the many hot springs near their villages, which was believed to be a cure for the demands of a strenuous agricultural lifestyle. [more inside]
posted by nickyskye
on Dec 19, 2011 -
20 comments
And here is
Ten Dreams, your
Symbolist,
Magical Realist, and
Metarealist brain/eye candy art source, featuring, among scores of many other artists and subjects,
Alma Tadema,
Bouguereau,
Ernst,
Hundertwasser,
Klimt, and
Maxfield Parrish, too. And then there is the
Ten Dreams of Ten Dreams, and not an exemplar known to me included.
[more inside]
posted by y2karl
on Mar 31, 2011 -
7 comments
After being beaten into a brain-damaging coma by five men outside a bar, Mark Hogancamp built a 1/6th scale World War II-era town in his backyard. Mark populated the town he dubbed "
Marwencol" with dolls representing his friends and family and created life-like photographs detailing the town's many relationships and dramas. Playing in the town and photographing the action helped Mark to recover his hand-eye coordination and deal with the psychic wounds from the attack.
[more inside]
posted by dobbs
on Mar 16, 2010 -
40 comments
What happens in the shadow, in the grey regions, also interests us – all that is elusive and fugitive, all that can be said in those beautiful half tones, or in whispers, in deep shade.
Here are some short films by Stephen and Timothy, the
Brothers Quay. [more inside]
posted by Iridic
on Feb 3, 2008 -
13 comments
Thomas Pynchon Paper Dolls Something light because, yes, it's the run-up to the November 21st release of Against the Day, the new 1000 page doorstop from Thomas Pynchon.
The Modern Word is using the time to update their already vast Pynchon site. Good luck. (A whole lot of other paper dolls
previously.)
posted by OmieWise
on Oct 27, 2006 -
37 comments
The tradition of making
Japanese dolls, called ningyo—meaning human figure—goes back as far as 10,000 years to clay figures made during the Jomon period. The more recent rise in popularity, though, is most often traced to
Hina Matsuri--Girls' Day, or the Doll Festival, celebrated on March 3--originating during the Edo period. These
antique ningyo are highly sought after by
collectors, such as the American
expert Alan Pate, who has written a
number of articles on the subject. The modern Japanese doll culture, however, is anything but traditional. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the ningyo tradition was exported to make
toys for the West (
previously featured on MeFi), and has culminated in popular Barbie-type dolls such as
Superdollfie and
others. Contemporary artists have transformed the Japanese doll tradition into something else entirely:
Simon Yotsuya,
Ryo Yoshida,
Koitsukihime,
Yoko Ueno,
Mario A.,
Etsuko Miura, and
Kai Akemi. A number of these artists were featured in the
Dolls of Innocence exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. Of course, notable artists outside Japan have worked with dolls before, including
Hans Bellmer, who inspired much of the artwork in
Innocence, the follow-up to Ghost in the Shell. Explore more:
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5].
[Several links are nsfw.]
posted by monju_bosatsu
on Mar 24, 2006 -
11 comments
Mary was just an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life - the type of life just about any girl of that time would lead. She had a normal family, and was engaged to be married to a humble carpenter named Joseph. And then she got a visit from the angel Gabriel and was transformed into
a scripture-quoting action figure.
(Don't forget to learn how to use).
posted by nobody
on Oct 4, 2005 -
37 comments
Is your child an angel with attitude? Time to win yourself some Angel Dollars.
"Entries will be judged on facial beauty, expression & fashion, and overall appeal of photo. These should be professional pictures, but should not be extremely or overly retouched. (We are judging the child - not the retoucher!) Divisional Winners will receive 25.00 Angel Dollars, and 1 Overall Winner will receive 50.00 Angel Dollars."
posted by sharksandwich
on Jul 9, 2005 -
66 comments
The Frag Dolls "represent the ladies in gaming with the taste and talent for beating you at your own games. So, for all you guys who think the only gals in gaming are the leather-clad, pixilated beauties on your screens, think again. We're real, and we've got the skills to teach you a few tricks of our own." They're also sponsored by
UbiSoft. Dismantling stereotypes or reinforcing them?
(via Annalee Newitz, and a nice counterpart to this thread)
posted by mrgrimm
on Nov 18, 2004 -
52 comments
Sure,
Scarlett O'Hara Barbie is lovely, and yeah,
Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz Barbie is cute, but for my money, it's hard to beat
Marge Simpson Barbie,
Medusa Barbie, or
Dominatrix Barbie. The full collection, located
here, clearly owes a debt to
Todd Haynes, and the
Barbie Liberation Army, but is still worth a chuckle.
posted by jonson
on Jun 21, 2003 -
7 comments
Barbie and her friends now have blogs. Seeing this seriously made me consider hanging my hat and going home. They even have webcams, to do lists, and little photo galleries. The corporate giants are working hard to pull girls in to technology - which is a really good thing. Too bad the latest posts are about buying mini-skirts and things like that.
posted by christine_bpc
on Mar 15, 2003 -
14 comments
Ushabtis
are small mummiform dolls that the ancient Egyptians buried with the dead. 'Ushabti' means 'Answerer'. [more inside]
posted by Slithy_Tove
on Mar 5, 2003 -
16 comments
