The Ultimate Altered Barbie Show

Thu, Aug 4
6:00pm - 10:00 pm
Free

The Ultimate Altered Barbie Show, "Assembly required - No
instructions included" A juried exhibition hosted by ChatterBox at
Red Ink Studios. This exhibition show cases over 60 individual
artists showing off their particular artistic expression through
altering Barbie dolls. The categories include 3-dimensional barbies,
photography, paintings, performance and film.

Show open from August 3 - 31,
Hours: Wed-Sat 12-4, Thurs 2-8,


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The Altered Barbie and friends exhibit includes San Francisco artists
and their interpretation of what it means to alter an American icon,
Barbie and her impact on Americans ideas about image, body, and beauty.

Barbie is the epitome of the modern lifestyle. Barbie is the idol of
money and encompasses the aspirations to be beautiful, rich and
famous. Everything about Barbie is modern, her looks, her
accessories, and even her ability to keep up with societal trends.

The problem with being this beautiful, rich and famous Icon is that
Barbie is an idol that is kept in a perfect box. This box allows no
room for variation or individualization. It is hard to relate to
Barbie outside of her accessories. She is too perfect, cold and too
blatantly collaborates with all the superficial trappings of the
American society. She has no individuality, no persona. Only through
a child's imagination is there the magic of transformation. Left
alone Barbie cannot laugh, cry or show any emotion.

As adults, we are not satisfied with individual imagination. The
transformation of Barbie needs to be done visually through artistic
mediums and thus her transformation is shared. Artists physically
alter Barbie, they take her out of her box and give her a personality
through different mediums. In this alteration Barbie can be anything.
She can be old, fat, poor, a fairy, a princess, anything. She becomes
a fun magical and thoughtful icon who is more accessible and human.
Barbie altered is an icon that grows, and changes with the times.
Where once we played with dolls, now again we play with dolls and are
not limited to her physical form. We can deconstruct and then
reconstruct her. The breaking out of her physical form gives her and
us the freedom to be anything.

In this exhibit sometimes Barbie is light and fun and other times she
is more serious and political. The artists participating represent
the art world from established, emerging, young, old and diverse
cultural backgrounds.


Participating renowned artists include: Stan Askew, Ben Fishman, Big
Al, Jerry Blue, Cherrie Elliott, Deborah Colotti, Patricia Herbert
Crowley, Dana Smith, Dana Merik, JWDiehl, Fanklin Lim Liao, Julie
Andersen, Michel Fraser, Mauricia Gandara, Nora Garcia, Jenne Giles,
Kate Grady, Marc Ellen Hamel, Elaine, Tanya Jaffe, Sofia Larsson,
Laurie Toby Edison, Catherine Lynch, Steven Stodor, Jose Mondragon,
David Pang, Ruby Pearl, Pernilla Pesson, Rik Livingston, Leigh
Radtke, Roxanne Worthington, Elizabeth Schmid, Jordan Hines, Adele
Louise Shaw, Caroline Shields, Susan Bistline, Susan Koroly, Susie
Kameny, Emeson Taymor, Tina Vietmier, Wendy Robinette, Amber Zayac,
Zmanart, Jody Banks, FrancisE Kohler, Diane Komater, Nicolette
Yarbrough, Lynne Lee, Hestar Michaels, Etya Makiyer Skaya, Mey Lee


ChatterboxSF is a San Francisco based arts organization dedicated to
cross cultural artistic exchange between San Francisco and foreign
based artists

Venue:

Red Ink Studios
989 Market St.
San Francisco
(415) 336-6332

(across the street from The Warfield) between 5th and 6th street.

Additional Info:

(415) 336-6332