Monday, June 8, 2009

Dolls - Not Just For Kiddies

Through the ages, dolls are primarily thought of as playthings for children. Dolls have been used by adults too for a variety of uses: religious; fashion; to invoke goddess favours (fertility); comfort; injury (voodoo); story telling; and teaching. These are just a few examples of how dolls have aided and been used by adults. As these charming pictures show, dolls were also used as a prop:








Dolls were also used (and still are) in entertainment, ie. the puppet or ventriloquist dummy.









One of a kind dolls are collected and treasured today by adults as pieces of art. There are many artists in the past who created beautiful dolls, however the majority were designed for children. There were some artists in the past century that created dolls solely for adults.


Perhaps one of the most famous was Hans Bellmer . His surrealistic dolls are compelling, wonderful and in some cases frightening.



Salvador Dali famous for his surrealistic paintings also liked to occasionally dapple in figurative work. Below is a pic of Dali with one of his mannequins in 1933.




Another artist of the past, Hannah Hoch was a member of the German Dada movement and was known for her fabulous montage work. She also created some artist dolls. The pic below is of Hannah and one of her dolls from 1925.



The history of dolls and art dolls is fascinating and there is a wealth of information on the internet. Spend some time on Google and you will be fascinated and then search and check out some of the phenomenal doll artists of today.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the vintage pics! ☺

Unknown said...

These photos are amazing. I love vintage pictures with old dolls. This post was so informative.
I will look at old pictures with dolls and wonder where the old dolls are today. I have looked for photos on Google but I have never found pics like these!!

Lezlei Ann Young said...

What a great post!!!
xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

What a great find you gave us!!!
I've been to Spain and went to the Salvador Dali museum and it was WILD!!! Some of his interaction toys were fabulous!!! Then there was a huge and I mean huge pink lip chair.... Also had some of his early works which were so simple compared to the man... Sorry went on...

I love your posts!
PAttee

3rdEyeMuse said...

I absolutely ADORE the third photo from the top. :)

thank you for the wonderful lesson ... such interesting information. Speaking of Dali, we live about an hour from a Dali museum that has a stellar collection of his work.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos. You should write for an art doll magazine.

Baroness Bijoutery said...

Fantastic post..love all these old pictures..

Tristan Robin said...

What an interesting post - so much terrific information (and about something I'm interested in! LOL) and really fab fab fab photos!

FlightFancy said...

Thanks Sue! What glorious photos!

Tallowberry Primitives and FolkArt said...

Hi Sue, What a beautiful blog you've created. Very informative and a feast for the eyes!

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit, I will be back.

~Diane

Jdee said...

Great photos Sue! I really enjoyed your post!
xoxox

julie said...

Do you ever wonder what people will be saying about your dolls 50, 100 years from now?

Pamela Zimmerman said...

what a great article and wonderful pictures

Anonymous said...

Thanks Sue... Do you know how to edit on Etsy?? I'm have a heck of a time.
Pattee

Renee said...

And the dolls I see you guys make Sue are unreal.

Love Renee xoxox

Rosanna Pereyra said...

Hi Sue!
Thank you for sharing the info and the pics they are great.

Hugs,
Rosanna

Nun of a Kind! said...

The pictures and information are, as usual, superb. You are a wonderful doll maker and a great writer. You must have been standing in at least two lines when talents were being handed out!!

Marie Patterson Studio said...

I love the vintage pictures!
Maybe you'll find your Mobo! lol!

Renee said...

I find dollmakers so interesting.

You are creating little people.

Thank you for your comment to me Sue.

xoxox

Anonymous said...

I simply adore these vintage pics with dolls!

Barbara/myth maker said...

Enjoyed your post , and great pictures!

Rita said...

Oh wonderful photos. I love dolls and cant stop sculpting them LOL. I have some old walker dolls I must take some photos of. My hose is full of fairies dolls and pixies.
Thanks for sharing.
Love Rita xxx