Paperdolls

I am pleased to introduce the next four in my 'paper dolls' series.  I don't think that this will be their formal titles, but it is the working title I've been using since spending an evening cutting up a Holt magazine - once cut out of their original context, these figures make me think of the paper dolls that I used to play with - stiff figures and the corresponding clothing sets with the little folded tabs that were meant to hold the clothing in place.  Such an old-fashioned kind of toy, but still a very interesting aesthetic to play with now...

Paperdolls 7
5 x 7" mixed media

Paperdolls 6
5 x 7" mixed media

Paperdolls 5
5 x 7" mixed media

Paperdolls 4
5 x 7" mixed media

You'll see that I've included a few dashing young men in this set - somehow they are harder to impose a new setting on than the girls, though I am not sure why.  Perhaps the specificity of the suit?  As I work, I think about the iconic or archetypal figures of goddesses and heroines (and heroes) that figure so prominently in literature, art and psychology.  Perhaps that is how I'll begin to identify these figures - modern day mythic figures with their messages and morals a little harder to spot, but meaningful just the same.  Let's see what you think.