Barbie Reimagined
Barbie as Muse and Solace
Barbie as Warhol's Marilyn Monroe by Jocelyne Grivaud
'Here is Barbie's 15 minutes of fame,' says French artist Jocelyne Grivaud, who has cast her as Marilyn Monroe, captured by an Andy Warhol print.
With her 2013 collection of artworks 'Barbie, Ma Muse', French Artist Jocelyne Grivaud is encouraging us to look at Barbie in a different light. She takes the famous doll and re-imagines her as some of the most iconic female muses in history, appearing in famous artworks like Warhol’s Marilyn, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, and even popping up as the Statue of Liberty, Coco Chanel and Neytiri from Avatar. (Stylist)
The Venus de Milo
Barbie aping one of the most recognizable works of Ancient Greek sculpture, a marble statue of the goddess Aphrodite
Barbie styled as Man Ray’s Le Violin
Mona Lisa Barbie’s smile is less enigmatic than Da Vinci’s
See
Check out how other artists and designers have used Barbie as their muse to help provide a mirror and soothe children in tough circumstances.
Lil G’s Dolls by Monserrat Reyes
G Barbies and Cholo Ken from Lil G Dolls, Photo courtesy of Monserrat Reyes
A Los Angeles artist is transforming Barbie dolls with sharpie eyebrows, intricate tattoos, and hoop earrings amid conversations around limited concepts of beauty reignited by Barbie mania.
Why it matters: Research has shown that dolls have a direct correlation with how young girls of color see themselves and their standards of beauty.
The nation's growing diversity and a national reckoning over race have propelled some companies to make dolls of color, but few have delved into subcultures among different races or ethnicities in the way that artist Monserrat Reyes is doing with her line of "G Barbies." (Read more…)
Barbara Lakin rejuvenates Barbies for refugee kids
Larkin, a former fashion designer, spends hundreds of hours sewing unique, couture outfits for [Barbies] and giving them to refugee children at the Little Shop of Kindness.
“It’s hard to imagine what these children have gone through. I think for a child to have a toy, especially in these circumstances, is important. It’s something that can comfort them, something that they can hold close”, says Lakin.
Barbie dresses and scrunchies match men's shirts after Lakin sewed them from the same fabric.
When the Little Shop of Kindness began receiving an influx of long-sleeved shirts nobody wanted, Lakin took her Barbie mission a step further. She began cutting the shirts into short sleeves, using the leftover fabric to make scrunchies and dresses for the Barbies. This way, she can donate matching Barbie dolls and shirts to father-and-daughter duos who come to the store.
“If I see a father and a young daughter together, I’ll tell them, ‘I have something really special for you,’ and ask them to choose which Barbie and T-shirt combination they want,” Lakin said. “Their reactions are always very sweet, they get so happy. A few times the dads will put on the shirt immediately before even leaving the shop.” (to learn more and offer up Barbies for the cause, read on…)
Say
What do you think of Barbie as an art muse?
Do the works ask us to think about new and different kinds of female beauty, or do they show Barbie as another idealized figure/the artist's muse?
If you have seen The Barbie Movie (2023), how did it impact your opinion of the Barbie Doll?
Do
Read 5 Things I Learned from Watching the Barbie Movie by Christian Rondow to hear a male perscpective.
Pick up a Barbie from a second-hand store and redesign her as you wish.
Read about the creation of Sun Man in 1985 by Yla Eason, a mother driven to provide a positive image for her black son.
Find a Barbie with your profession. Here’s mine!
Please share your reflections with me by replying to this post, or posting and tagging my Wonder Wander Facebook or Instagram pages!
