‘Barbie Girl’ for Exquisite Corpse International

I was invited to participate in the Exquisite Corpse International 2016 Art Show at the Museum of Fine Art. It was the second year of this show, featuring about 50 of the most professional artists in the St. Petersburg area.

This was the first year that included photography. I had been nagging Salvador to add photography all year. When I was invited I said yes, of course. They told me there was only one piece and I said ‘but I have a few friends that specifically do SURREALISM if you want more people’. I talked them into taking 3 of my friends to make it more interesting. I mean, what fun is it if you already know your partners because there are only 3 (total) people. Once I told them about a few of my friends art, they decided yes on two photography pieces between 6 photographers.

How does ‘the game’ work? We are assigned a section of the body: legs, torso, or head. And we are matched up with 2 other artists in our medium but we dont know who it is or what section they are doing. Once the person below you is finished you get tick marks on a box and you match your either waist or neck with the tick marks.

I had many ideas for the torso. I was feeling a little feminist at the moment – which I tend to make a few feminist pieces every year. The show is surrealism, but I don’t do compositions. I have to create something ‘surreal’ in real life. I can’t shoot all these elements separately and photoshop them together. Models are too hard to get so I bought a barbie off ebay. Then when I got barbie in the mail I said – she needs something! She needs accessories. So I bought the barbie a baby, and a margarita. I had to hand paint the margarita. I almost bought a white picket fence by Lego. You get the idea here. I at that age (30) where being a woman starts getting very stereotypical.

Event night is the first time you see your art complete with your 2 partners. I did not know who my partners were until reveal: Randy Van Duinen as the legs and Beth Reynolds as the head. The best part was seeing them pull the paper off for the ‘reveal’ and seeing those big plastic boobs on hot hot pink background. All the eyes just went right to the boobs and the pink. To see everyone’s faces!!!

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