The facts:
January 4th to 16th, Naples: 150 vintage Barbies entwined with 50 years of story. Curated by Neapolitan top collector Antonio Russo, the exhibition is hosted in the very heart of Naples: the church of
San Gennaro all’Olmo in via San Gregorio Armeno, the street of the typical crèche makers. Free entrance.
Beyond these facts, beyond the attractiveness of the location and beyond the collection sample exhibited,
the newspapers tend to reduce the news to the number of dolls, talking about the rare 1959 #1 Barbie as it was the same as the ultraserial Armani Barbie. Both the dolls document an evolution, it's sure, but
what the visitor should be given are the tools to differently appreciate what was created as a toy (the first Barbies) and what is being produced to be marketed and marketed and marketed (contemporary collectibles). And I know that
Antonio, president of Doll Collectors’ Club Italia, has this point well clear in mind,
committed to show the cultural influence – per se nor good, neither bad - of the most famous fashion doll. Interestingly, the event is hosted by the
Giambattista Vico Foundation, the philosopher who researched on the
dynamics of the universal history progress. *
I fatti:
dal 4 al 16 gennaio 2011 a Napoli, 150 Barbie originali intrecciate con 50 anni di storia. Curata dal top collector napoletano Antonio Russo, la mostra è ospitata presso la chiesa di
San Gennaro all’Olmo in via San Gregorio Armeno, ingresso gratuito.
Al di là dei fatti di cui sopra, al di là dell’attrattività del luogo e del campione di collezione esibita,
i giornali tendono a ridurre la notizia al numero di bambole, parlando della rara Barbie #1 del 1959 come se fosse sullo stesso piano dell’ultraseriale Barbie Armani. Entrambe le bambole documentano un’evoluzione, qsto è sicuro, ma ciò
che si dovrebbe dare al visitatore sono gli strumenti per apprezzare in modo differente ciò che fu creato come giocattolo (le prime Barbie) da ciò che viene prodotto per essere venduto e venduto e venduto (le bambole da collezione contemporanee). Io so che
Antonio, presidente di Doll Collectors’ Club Italia, ha ben chiaro in mente qsto punto,
impegnato com’è a dimostrare l’influenza culturale – di per se stessa né buona, né malvagia – della fashion doll più famosa. Non a caso, padrona di casa è la Fondazione intitolata a Giambattista
Vico, il filosofo che riflettè sulle dinamiche del progresso della storia universale.
50 anni di Barbie a Napoli: h 11.00 > h13.00 + h16.30 > h18.30
I'm missing Rimini Fashion Doll Convention this year, but I sent there a specially commissioned full colour leaflet -STRIKE A POSE - featuring Artist Creations' (Rome-based creative duo) Madonnadolls display. This small special is our new way of promoting your signature creations and evens as OOAK artists or doll-related craftmen. It's a way of being distributed as cover of a Doll News issue, with graphic style and contents accuracy guaranteed by Doll Collectors' Club Italia. You can order how many copies you want. Artist Cretions pioneered: who's next?
Just uploaded on slideshare: view and download it from the black rectangle widget here on this page (scroll down, go left). Or wait for it at home in paper version if you are a Doll Collectors' Club Italia member. This #54 issue is a tribute in loving memory of Mauro Agnolini. Want to join the club? Contact me thru this blog. 
One of most spectacular events in the event at “Bambole a Roma” was a real blonde Ponytail Barbie walking among the people – finally, a very resembling one. Doll Collectors’ Club Italia president, Antonio Russo, had this idea and asked the creative duo Artist Creations to sew a human scale version of Friday Night Date and Enchanted Evening, 2 famous Barbie outfits. To the astonishment of non-collectors, too!
She’s going to be 50. And she’s always been a piece of news – from time to time because she was in, out, off. But, I would say, always and 100% a subject of her/our time. And, for ther moment, the subject of plenty of celebrating events, books, dolls, essays, TV specials, gadgets, eBay auctions, product launches. My celebration of Barbie doll, and of the dolls as a cult and a phenomenon of our culture, is here. Stay tuned.
“The Scream” by E. Munch in an unexpected doll version - an emblematic entry from the contest held yesterday in Calenzano, Florence. As organizer, I’m proud of how the event is evolving. More soon. Promised. Something already here (Topocri2000 on flickr): http://www.flickr.com/photos/topocri/sets/72157610907788122/
