Existing comment:
American Beauties
Levinthal began the American Beauties series in 1989 after discovering a set of miniature pinup girls designed by legendary toymaker Louis Marx. The figurines boast voluptuous figures and strike classic poses derived from American film, advertising, and propaganda of the 1940s and 1950s. The Second World War was the pinnacle of the pinup -- through photographs and pen-and-ink drawings, these idealized wartime women were presented as sensual without being salacious, as well as ultra-feminine, wholesome, and attainable. Levinthal captures these qualities, yet introduces an aura of unease and artifice that brings attention to the unrealistic ideals the toys embody. The inky blackness that looms behind each figure suggests the dangerous role that cultural symbols can play in shaping thought and behavior. |