Paper Dolls

Do you remember those paper dolls you got as a kid, the one's you cut out and then made clothes for? They came with a little stand and a choice of outfits....

Well, following my research earlier this year into costume (see Playing Dress Up and Hollywood Costume at the V&A) I decided to create my own paper dolls.

I wanted to use a subject matter that excites me and gives me the chance to focus on costume and theatrics. So I chose to make burlesque paper dolls, dolls that had all the glitz and glam of a Hollywood starlet, but with a cheeky twist that put the emphasis on taking the clothes off rather than dressing up.

My first choice was to create a doll of a vintage performer and someone that would give me the opportunity to play around with ideas without infringing upon their copyright.

I immediately thought of Noel Toy, a beautiful lady I have painted in the past and one who still intrigues me. Miss Toy was a Chinese/American burlesque performer from the 1940's and has an exotic glamour all of her own.

My design for the my paper doll based on Noel Toy. I had to really think about arm placement, as arms held away from the body would easily bend and get weakened. After lots of playing around with ideas I chose to have her hands on her hips

I began by researching the costumes Noel used to perform in, but quickly decided to add my own take on what I could do with them in order to create the idea of a full character doll. For instance I definitely wanted to recreate the Chinese style robe as seen in the video of Noel's act:

In this film you can also see her using small fans as props but I decided to enlarge these fans and create them as full scale burlesque Chinese fans in order to use them as another layer to be removed before the big reveal (images of the fans yet to be uploaded!)

The first garment to dress up/undress my paper doll, this Chinese style robe is based on the one Miss Toy wore for one of her acts, but my design was also inspired by one worn by Claudette Colbert for her role as Cleopatra as seen at the Hollywood Costume Exhibition at the V&A (see below)

I definitely want to represent the 1940's vintage era but also the individual glamour of a Chinese performer, so I am using colours and textures which are evocative and sumptuous.

This was an early design for a second costume based on Chinese style pyjamas, but I quickly abandoned this as it distracted from the idea of recreating one act.

At present I am working on background ideas for the paper doll so that even before cutting out, the piece is a complete work. I am experimenting with ideas of Chinese paper and More updates will be posted as and when. My time in the studio is pretty limited at present so this may be a long project to complete, but one I am thoroughly enjoying! More images of this project and updates as it progresses can be seen on my facebook page

Latest painting...

I began this painting of 1940's burlesque performer Noel Toy over a year ago! It wasn't my intention for it to take so long to be completed (usually I finish paintings in a matter of weeks sometimes days) but it soon took second and even third place in importance as other work and projects took priority. During the year or so it sat in my studio I worked on it getting a hour here and an afternoon there every now and then.

On one hand it was good to have a painting on the go as it kept me connected to one of my favourite mediums, but on the other hand having my concentration broken so often meant that my bond with the work had to be built up every time I got the chance to work on it. So finally getting this piece finished feels extra satisfying. However I may come back to it and do some last minute tweaks here and there...maybe it'll never really be finished!

Anyway, I hope Noel would approve of her portrait, which I wanted to stand as a tribute to her; not only was she a pioneer of breaking stereotypes, she was a wonderful performer with much grace and vibrancy. 

I wanted her painting to have a vintage feel with a nod to old film with its jumps and crackles, hence the black and white background and slightly blurred edges. But I also wanted to highlight Noel's uniqueness, the thing that helped to make her so popular, her origin.  


Seen by many as an 'exotic', Noel used her looks to further her successes. I wanted to try and capture how startling and shocking it would have been to see a little oriental lady performing burlesque back in the 1940's, and found Vladimir Tretchikoff as inspiration. His famous 'Green Ladies' encapsulated the eras fascination with the orient with it's 'unusual' beauty and glamour.

Rather than pigeon hole Noel into yet another stereotype I hope this painting shows her for what she was, a canny performer with a fearless sense of fun and femininity.

Bits and bobbins

 

Detail of my portrait of Noel Toy

I'm working on lots of projects at the moment; My portrait of Noel Toy (remember that?) had to be put on hold for almost 6 months while I focused on other work that took me out of the studio and in front of a computer. But now she is near completion. I am still working on her beautiful green tinted visage between other work and I hope to have the finished thing for you to see in the near future. I am currently looking for non clear shellac to finsih off the meatl leaf details on the painting. My regular brand is no longer in manufacture, if anyone knows where I can buy NON clear shellac from please get in touch!

-

I'm working on a small gift painting for someone who has really helped me out over my career as an artist. He is due to retire soon so I thought I'd do a special piece for him. He used to be in the Navy so I've designed a sailor tattoo style with the words 'Last Port' to symbolise his retirement. The work is only a third of the way through but I thought I'd show you where I'm up to:

The design first drawn out on tracing paper and put in place on the canvas

The background colour applied and the first layers of colour on the mermaids

-

I've been spending a lot of time applying for things and putting proposals together which can take a lot of time away from actual creating things hands on. I was trying to think of ways around this when I had a brainwave about embroidery. Yes, embroidery! Providing the piece is small enough, you can carry it around with you anywhere and it will be a great way of passing time in situations where I have a few minutes to spare.

My love of sailor tattoos came to mind as the defined black outlines would transfer beautifully to stitching and line work. I designed this image during another few minutes I had to spare, which I plan to get on embroidering tonight!

It's based on an image of Taiwanese fashion model Jeanine Chin Hsi. I made her rather piratical, and she will have applique hair and shirt before I'm through. I plan on doing some nautical patterns in the background and can't wait to get to grips with the black thread outlines!

Green Ladies

After sitting patiently in the corner of my studio for some weeks, my portrait of 1940's Chinese/American burlesque performer Noel Toy is properlly underway.

I discovered Toy while researching vintage burlesque, and found a lovely black and white film of this delightful exotic dancer. After finding out more about her and who she was, I was inspired to celebrate her in her own painting.

This image of Noel is taken from a still of the orignial film and I have included the name of the club she performed in as a tribute to her success and unique appeal; it is said her burlesque acts tripled business at the Forbidden City night club within three months!

My initial plan for this painting was to do the entire thing in black and white, but as I applied the layers of paint I noticed a distinct green glow to Noel's face. Subconsciously I had plied a green/blue tint to her skin making her now reminisent of the famous Green Lady. I decided I quite liked her accidental otherworldly look so I'm sticking to it. I hope Noel would appreciate the links with the other famous chinese green lady.

A little about the Green Lady:

Originally named, 'Chinese Girl' this painting was created between 1946 -50 by Russian born artist Vladimir Tretchikoff.
With the mantra, 'Express your passion, do what you love, no matter what', Tretchikoff was a free spirit who painted uncomplicated images using unmixed paint straight from the tube. His life reads like a thriller and you can read his beautifully presented biography at his website HERE.

'Chinese Girl' became a huge commercial success; in the austere post war years the painting was a slice of an exotic world many could only dream about. It was also one of the first affordable art prints, meaning even those from the working class had access to art works to disply in their own homes. This trend reached it's kitsch peak during the 1960's and 70's when the green lady graced many a living room wall giving her an instant recogisable iconic status.

It's rumored that 'Chinese Girl' has been printed more times than Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa giving more ammunition to the overall popularity and mystique of this well known image.

Tretchikoff went on to paint various other green tinted women but it is this particular green lady who has stayed a firm favourite triggering memories of childhood and trips to grandparents' houses when her popularity was at it's highest and has come to represent kitsch at it's best.

What people say about the the Green Lady:

'I wish it had never happened'
Art Critic Brian Sewell

'It means something about my background and where I'm from and my nan'
Designer Wayne Hemmingway

'To me it is very powerful and spiritual'
Paranormalist Uri Geller

Heiner Meyer

'Gambling' 2007 Shellac and photo on canvas Heiner Meyer

I have been recently looking at work by the German artist Heiner Meyer. I got a calander featuring his art work as a present and it made me want to know more about him and his practice. Meyer began his artisitic career as assistant to Salvador Dali after studying Fine Arts at the college of Branschweig. He went on to define his own style combining painting with photography and it is this layered decorative quality which caught my imagination. He uses found images of famous glamorous icons from the 1950's through to contemporary stars, then modifies them with other representations of pop culture building up the layers of colour and shape.

I especially like the way he combines text with image and decoration giving the found photo a completely new meaning and understanding, while keeping it beautiful and enjoyable to look at. As I am currently painting a portrait of Noel Toy (see last post) I decided I'd like to employ some of Meyer's layered effect to the painting. I began by adding text to the image; which I have applied silver leaf to to add texture and lusciousness. I intend this painting to be in black and white in keeping with Noel's vintage status, so I'm still figuring out how I'll layer up the paint to reflect something of Meyer's tecnique. I'll fill you in as I go.

Silver leaf applied to my portrait of Noel Toy

Dressing Table Gallery

This week happens to be my favourite photo so far! This lovely snap was sent in my Eva Elliott from the UK.

Eva says, 'The pic at the top is of my mum and dad in the 70s, I found it a few months ago and I love it. I think it might be my favourite pic ever!'

I really like this simple photo as it captures the essence of someone whose life seems quite busy and full as seen by the amount of stuff she crams onto her dressing table. Yet the photo itself feels quiet and unassuming. It's a lovely contrast. I like the green drawers too, they give the photo it's unique quality.

You can see beautiful jewellery crafted by Eva on her Etsy page HERE

If you would like to get involved with the Dressing Table Gallery please send your photos to : gemma-parker@hotmail.co.uk

Noel Toy

Inspired by my look at vintage burlesque stars from the golden heyday a few weeks back, I started to look up burlesque performances from the 40's and 50's on youtube.
I discovered a gorgeous exotic performer called Noel Toy, the U.S.A's most successful Chinese-American burlesque dancer working in the early Forties.

I began to research into Noel's history and was delighted to discover she was a revolutionary in her own way, setting out to liberalize women, Chinese women especially, from demure and submissive stereotypes!
I was so taken with Miss Toy that I decided to paint a portrait of her while I put together ideas for my other work based around dressing tables (see below).

Noel Toy was born Ngun Yee in San Francisco to émigré parents from Canton, China. She was close to graduating from her jounalism degree at the University of California Berkeley, when she accepted an offer to perform in a Chinese village show at the World's Fair on Treasure Island in 1939. The gig involved not much more than standing around in a Chinese dress looking pretty. This led on to other more risque work when later the same year Charlie Low asked her to work at his popular Forbidden City, the first and only Chinese nightclub at the time.

She changed her name to Noel Toy after her love of the Christmas season and began to wow audiences with her graceful dances. She was even labelled the Chinese Sally Rand as she became famous for her fan dances, and using a giant bubble while on stage.

Due to her popularity business tripled at Forbidden City within three months and Noel was soon off dancing at other clubs in San Francisco, a year later she was invited to perform in New York City where she was a huge hit. In 1942 Noel appeared in a Broadway revue Wine Women and Song but her stint was short lived after the show was shut down due to obscenity. A witness at the trial said that Noel Toy "was nude except for her shoes and one other piece of clothing, and pretended to dance but didn't move her feet" (Associated Press, December 1, 1942)

In 1945 Noel met and married Carlton Young, a soldier who saw one of her shows and was love struck declaring there and then, 'I'm going to marry you!'. Upon his request she gave up performing and turned to film and TV work. She appeared alongside Clark Gable and Susan Hayward (in "Soldier of Fortune") and Humphrey Bogart and Gene Tierney (in "The Left Hand of God"). But Noel soon became disillusioned by Hollywood as she was always cast as the 'Ornamental Oriental'. In 1954 she gave up acting and started a career in real estate.

She remained a rebel to the end of her life, often visiting the town where she lived in L.A wearing short skirts and high heels even while in her old age.
Noel died fittingly, on Christmas Eve of 2003 leaving behind her a legacy of scandal and revolution.

The first stage of my portrait of Noel Toy

Dressing Table Gallery

Each week I am showcasing photos sent in of readers dressing tables. This is a chance to interact with other people from the web but also goes towards a bigger project I am working on involved with narrative and belongings. Each photo gives the viewer a snapshot into a stranger's personal make up station and a portrait of their femininity!

This week the photos are from Layla Garner. Layla lives and works in Manchester in the UK and as I know her I can testify she is a very creative and individual lady! I especially like the use of candle sticks, again giving this dressing table a sacred appeal, almost like an altar.

If you would like to get involved and send in a photo of your dressing table please get in touch: gemma-parker@hotmail.co.uk