Barbie and The Pageant Princesses
by Claudia Durocher
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About the Book
By using the tropes of portrait photography on Barbie dolls, I would like the viewer to analyze the artificiality of the Barbie itself. I wish to make an observer think about the effects of socializing children—specifically young girls—using such unrealistic portrayals of the female form. Barbie dolls literally turn the female body into a distorted plastic object that can be gazed upon in public and in private.
By pairing a portrait of a Barbie with the portrait of a child beauty pageant contestant whose face has been plasticized through retouching, I wish the viewer to draw a direct correlation between the two subjects. The photographs of the children have been appropriated from the web, and chosen based on their overdone retouching, to emphasize the artificiality of this aspect of our culture. Parents practically turn their children into plastic dolls, in attempts to render them more beautiful; whether consciously or unconsciously they aestheticize the Barbie doll.
What tends to be forgotten is the fact that a Barbie doll is just molded plastic, with bendable arms and legs, a removable head, a torso, plastic hair and a painted on face. People infuse dolls with a life they do not possess, and the culture surrounding the Barbie is not positive. The Barbie lifestyle is one of endless clothes and easily replaceable consumer goods, which is not what society should be teaching its children.
By pairing a portrait of a Barbie with the portrait of a child beauty pageant contestant whose face has been plasticized through retouching, I wish the viewer to draw a direct correlation between the two subjects. The photographs of the children have been appropriated from the web, and chosen based on their overdone retouching, to emphasize the artificiality of this aspect of our culture. Parents practically turn their children into plastic dolls, in attempts to render them more beautiful; whether consciously or unconsciously they aestheticize the Barbie doll.
What tends to be forgotten is the fact that a Barbie doll is just molded plastic, with bendable arms and legs, a removable head, a torso, plastic hair and a painted on face. People infuse dolls with a life they do not possess, and the culture surrounding the Barbie is not positive. The Barbie lifestyle is one of endless clothes and easily replaceable consumer goods, which is not what society should be teaching its children.
Features & Details
- Primary Category: Arts & Photography Books
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Project Option: Standard Portrait, 7.75×9.75 in, 20×25 cm
# of Pages: 46 - Publish Date: Mar 27, 2011
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