Friday, 7 March 2008
Tala Barbir http://talabfmp.blogspot.com
The Barbie doll, some believe it to be the number one iconic image of our time, while others see it as a product that induces negative body image in young girls. However, about 172,800 Barbie dolls are sold every day around the world as she is contemporary and in tune with fashion, music and trends. I want to create an interactive touch screen display where viewers can custom make their own doll. The doll will not only have options of clothes and accessories, but rather the option to have 'realistically' proportioned limbs and body parts; for example, rather than the tall and lean Barbie legs, there would be an option of having short legs with thicker thighs. This product is targeted towards adults in London who, unlike Barbie, do not conform to one social category. The Barbie doll is beautifully designed, painted, accessorized and packaged, yet every little girl who owns one will deconstruct it by cutting the hair and making their own clothes for the doll to 'look more like them.' Therefore, with this interactive project you can create a doll that looks like you or make one for a friend or colleague. I will design the dolls (male and female), the body parts, the 'real' accessories and clothes as the on-screen options, as well as the packaging, the templates of the touch screen and the look of the machine. The touch screen machine will have a placement order page where the viewer can punch in their address after they create their doll and have it made and shipped to their home or office if they desire. For the show, I will have the touch screen machine for viewers to create dolls and 2 or 3 finished dolls and their packaging on display. This project involves taking apart the stereotypes symbolized by Barbie and creating individual works of art and self-expression.
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3 comments:
Sounds like a considerable challenge. Perhaps even unattainable. Good luck if you choose to pursue it.
Although it may be difficult to get the touchscreen/machine manufactured, Have you any ideas how to realize this? I think the idea is interesting although I am not sure if it is entirely original. It is definitely contemporary and deals with a subject that is forefront in todays society such as body image etc.
A rather long project descriptor that gets more difficult to achieve as I read on, Personaling dolls and customised modelling already exists. I would also avoid any project that involves persoanl politics, besides which body image is such a well-trodden area for investigation.
GTS
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