The Doll (Maquette for The Doll's Games) 1938

This is a photograph by Hans Bellmer of his sculpture, “The Doll”, and looking at it you can tell it was definitely a process to make this object. The way it’s put together, it’s kind of unsettling but also intriguing, right? The surface of the doll seems almost skin-like, a waxy tone and texture that makes you wonder about touch, about what it would feel like. And the way Bellmer arranged the doll, strung up in a forest, it really plays with this idea of dolls and bodies and how we see them. The segments of the limbs, tied off, evoke old fashioned toys as well as meat. It reminds me a bit of Louise Bourgeois, especially her later sculptures that deal with similar themes of the body, sexuality, and trauma. But where Bourgeois might use softer materials, Bellmer is so literal, which makes it all the more disturbing. It’s like he’s saying, art doesn’t have to be beautiful, it just has to make you feel something.