About the Work
David Levinthal's photographs of vintage Barbies showcase the height of fashion from the 1950s to the early 1970s. Photographed more like real models than like toys, these dolls capture the glamour and oppressed sexuality of the post-war generations. The images strike a balance between criticism—of the idealization of the female form and the objectification of women—and kitsch—fun and colorful depictions of a familiar icon.
About the Artist
Vintage Barbie dolls and sports figurines come to life in David Levinthal's photographs. These toy characters act out scenes from graphic novels, war stories, and highly charged political moments. Voyeuristic and often shot like a scene from film noir, Levinthal's subjects have included WWII battle scenes, American blackface figures, baseball heroes, and cultural icons.
“I first began to work with toys as the subject matter for my artwork in 1972 while I was a graduate student in photography at Yale. Initially I was interested in the toys merely as objects. As I continued working I began to try to re-create the feelings of childhood play by photographing toy soldiers on the floor of my bedroom and using simple painted wood blocks to represent buildings and cities. I quickly found that narrow focus that came from photographing objects less than an inch tall gave the toys more life and a sense of realism that was not inherent in them. Setting up the toy figures is just the beginning. The set itself is just the background. It is a scene. And it is within and from that scene that the images themselves are found.”
Artspace Edition
Description
Color photograph made with archival pigments on fine art rag paper with matte finish.Authentication
Includes a Certificate of Authenticity and an artist signed label on verso.Dimensions
This print contains a border as dictated by the artist to allow for framing and the quoted dimensions are for the paper size and not the printed size of the image itself.Shipping
Unframed works ship in 7–10 business days.Framed works ship in 10–14 business days.