Bad Barbie

Bad Barbie, published to accompany a show of David Levinthal s photographs of the same name, reproduces 25 black and white images the artist made in his early experiments shooting toys. Arranged in a loose narrative sequence the photographs depict the commercially ubiquitous dolls, Barbie, her boyfriend Ken, and G.I. Joe, in a series of poses and tableaux of sexual liaison and activity. The young artist was responding to a contemporary atmosphere of new sexual license enjoyed by youthful America following the liberal-leaning social upheavals of the 1960s. With eleven pages of text featuring an introductory note by Richard Prince and a racy narrative fiction by John McWhinnie. This hard cover edition is limited to just 500 copies.