Dolls 1968

Curator: Well, this photograph, simply titled "Dolls," was captured by Nathan Lerner in 1968. He had such a keen eye. Editor: It’s giving me serious horror movie vibes, you know? Something about the fixed stares and that, uh, *enthusiastic* grin on the first one. Curator: Yes, that first one is... unsettling, isn't he? He kind of steals the show, even though he's only part of a tableau of four. To me, it speaks volumes about performance, about the masks we wear. Think of a ventriloquist dummy brought to life, and his perpetual "joy" becomes chilling. Editor: You nailed it! Masks indeed. I'm thinking about the production, the material lives of these dolls, from factory to little girl's hands, only to end up like this – relics in someone’s archive, reflecting outdated fashions, the churn of capitalism through playthings. I wonder about the materials Lerner chose to photograph and whether those specific attributes drove the shot as much as the actual subjects did. Curator: I see your point completely. There’s that very modern tension there between the mass-produced object and the artist’s, Lerner’s, unique gaze—he is rescuing these dolls, imbuing them with a renewed aesthetic relevance. And even beyond capitalism, look at how he plays with archetypes of the feminine; these girls become totems for various idealized roles from their period, even in terms of representation. Editor: And speaking of relevance, the monochrome tones amplify that feeling, placing them firmly in history and removing them from a tactile play space. No brightly coloured plastic here! Did Lerner manipulate his chemicals, I wonder, to enhance that nostalgic aura, turning playthings into ghostlike artifacts? Curator: Possibly. Although it does carry something truly disarming at its core. By choosing dolls, Nathan Lerner isn't just pointing to forgotten childhoods or bygone manufacturing processes; he is staging something eerily prescient of our digital age. These inanimate objects now stare back as avatars of constructed identities and lost realities. Editor: Mmm, maybe they haunt us for more than just their aesthetic chill! Material choices echoing existential dread; who knew doll photography could be this deep? Curator: Right? Turns out, even dolls have a story to tell—or perhaps a secret to whisper if we’re brave enough to listen.