Photo Karen Graham. This whimsical display at the Millbrook Library brings a welcome pep of colour to these dull days, and a touch of nostalgia to some of us who spent more time than they might care to admit imagining the life of these teenage idols.
No winter blues for Barbie! Celebrating her 63rd birthday next month, Barbie and her buddies are celebrating Valentine’s Day at the Millbrook Branch of Cavan-Monaghan Libraries, and while you can’t join them exactly – they are partying inside the Historical Society display cabinet – you can sure come and admire them!
So what are Barbie and friends doing in a library? There is a connection. Novelists Barbara Kingsolver and A.M. Homes have used the doll in their fiction writing. Mattel, the doll’s manufacturer, registered Barbie as a work of art, and the doll has indeed inspired such works of art as Andy Warhol’s 1986 painting, as well as photographs by William Wegman and David Levinthal.
Why now? In a bid to banish the February blues, it’s a Valentine’s Day bash, with a bevy of Barbies bringing the promise of better weather with a picnic scene and the top down on the convertible. It’s the place to be and everyone’s there, including a vintage doll from the 1950s, on loan from Laurie Blimke.
Photo Karen Graham.
Barbie is the boss. The brainchild of Ruth Handler, co-founder with her husband Elliot of the Mattel Toy Company, Barbie – full name Barbara Millicent Roberts – was designed to encourage little girls to imagine their future. Barbie has had more than 200 careers in her 63 years. Her résumé includes, among other things, airline pilot, astronaut, doctor, Olympic athlete and computer engineer. Handler always saw Barbie as a reflection of the times, with the first doll reflecting the glamour of 1950s stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Munroe.
Barbie’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Ken Carson was introduced in 1961, and the party started rolling when friend Midge was introduced in 1963, followed by little sister Skipper in 1964. The rest is history.
This band of Barbies, friends and accessories are from the collection of Cris Ramsay, daughter of the curators of the display cabinet, Anne and Peter. Come and party at the library!
