This is a ball jointed porcelain doll crafted by artist Marina Bychkova. They are hand made, and hand painted, with fully articulated ball joints set with springs and soft leather.
This doll sold for $26,700.50.
I believe that these pieces are unquestionably art; though porcelain dolls are usually dismissed as craft, something never found in a modern art gallery. More akin to... Faberge eggs, perhaps. Personally I have always had a certain fascination with ball jointed dolls and doll making, and also in making molds and duplicates. The former I have no experience with personally, solely the latter. I would love to try my hand in it, but it seems a serious practice that would take me years before I saw results that I found satisfying.
So, if you like do leave me some comments about your opinion on craft and art - and about Marina Bychkova's work.
You can get an unfinished doll for like $100 and sand/paint it yourself. You can easily customize to your heart's content. And there is a large community to lean on.
ReplyDeleteModifying is a bit different than making, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteHm, this is tricky. My first thought was to say that we should not dismiss craft, and that brilliant craft is still craft and can be potentially be even more respectable than some art. Afterall, why dismiss craft when some of the most exquisite, magical, awe-inspiring craftsmanship is impressive enough to stand on its own? At one time, craft was not a dirty word--in fact, it was highly respectable to be a good blacksmith, a good cobbler, a good taxidermist, a good seamstress, a good **craftsman**. Before industrialisation, craft was not only a precious commodity, but a necessity to make your house both stand straight and and feel like a home.
ReplyDeleteBut how do you want to define art? Does art have to say something new, or take craft in new directions? Does that mean all art becomes craft once it becomes a genera? Once it becomes "for the heart and home"? Does that make ocean landscape paintings craft? Certainly there is way more to this doll than there is in most beach paintings.
Perhaps High Contemporary Art has hogged the name of Art all to itself, and if something is not “adding to the Contemporary dialogue” than it is craft. That would dismiss a hell of a lot of what we do as Not-Art.
After industrialisation, I suppose art is what you can’t pick up in the “home improvement”, “toys” or “decour” aisles. If it is slightly too interesting or questionable to be sold in mainstream stores, it’s probably art. And with her non-standard proportions and realistic features, I suppose this is doll is art. I’d also argue that these mindful deviations do “say something”, quietly. Maybe I should make it my goal to make the most "touching", "challenging" Faberge egg ever...
Very well spoken, and I find myself agreeing with pretty much all of it.
Delete