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In the art of Andrea McCafferty, sassy pinups from the past who seem to know more than they’re letting on somehow have something in common with a Buddha who seems to have a secret up his sleeve.
Through Ms. McCafferty’s camera lens, separate series of Barbie, Betty Boop and Buddha studies share a unifying sensibility. Each consists of portraits of a doll or figurine posed to conjure nostalgia, smiles and subtle questions about the duality of the human condition.
“Each of their faces changes, even though they’re inanimate,” Ms. McCafferty said of her tiny subjects. “I think that’s what drew me. Their faces have expressions and look different in each photo.”
Photographs from all three series are being exhibited as part of a two-person show at the cooperative Crazy Monkey Gallery in Amagansett. This is the first time in six years Ms. McCafferty’s work is being featured at the gallery she founded, paired with colorful patterned paintings by Len Bernard. The show remains on view through August 30.
The idea to photograph icons didn’t come to the artist in a single snap. Barbie came first. Ms. McCafferty was playing Barbie with her 5-year-old daughter, Sienna, at the beach. One favorite pastime was imagining scenes Barbie could “live” in. It was a short leap to put Barbie in front of a camera.
But not just any Barbie would do. In keeping with her penchant for turning back the calendar in her fine art, Ms. McCafferty wanted to use a blonde Barbie from the past. She found a replica of the original 1959 Barbie and brought her to the beach to photograph, wearing the original demure zebra-striped bathing suit that came with the doll at that time.
Barbie’s blue eye shadow, cat glasses and significantly different appearance from present-day Barbie root her securely in the realm of yesteryear. Some photographs pair Barbie with modern day accoutrements from Sienna’s Barbie stash. Combined with the contemporary approach to composition, the mashup of different eras jumbles past with present and whimsy with body perfection issues. Dramatic use of shadows and offbeat settings add intrigue to the implied narrative of each image and the series as a whole.
The Betty Boop series makes use of similar themes. The cartoon character pinup from the 1930s secured a berth in Ms. McCafferty’s imagination after her daughter spied a liquid candy container created in Betty Boop’s image. Delighted by her own instant recognition of the iconic figure, Ms. McCafferty knew she had found the subject of her next series.
In this series, Betty Boop is posed with different types of colored glass in natural settings. The photographs aim to channel a retro sensibility while raising questions about inner and outer identity, Ms. McCafferty said. Both the Betty Boop and Barbie series bring social history issues into a contemporary context.
“Time has changed them,” the artist said, “the way we look at these figures.”
Looking around at her photographs in the exhibit last week, Ms. McCafferty remarked that the Betty Boop series provided a transition from the earthly to the spiritual. With Betty, the compositions suggest questions about self and not-self, she said. With Buddha, the compositions are meant to suggest the interface between the unenlightened human condition and spirituality and higher consciousness.
“I’m interested in dualities,” she said. “Dualities of self. The mirror and the reflection. Earthly versus spiritual.”
Like the pinup forerunners, Buddha is photographed at the beach and in other natural settings. The series is meant to be whimsical with elements of surprise. The photographs in all three series aim to channel a bit of portraiture. Even though inanimate figurines are the subject, they have the quality of radiating life, Ms. McCafferty said.
“They have a presence,” she said. “They have a personality and expression even though they’re inanimate objects. I find that really interesting about them. I like the juxtaposition between how they appear more real and not so plastic.”
In her paintings, Ms. McCafferty also addresses nostalgia and retro subjects and themes. She has also exhibited at Guild Hall and Ashawagh Hall in East Hampton and at the New Century Gallery in Chelsea. Her photographs of nudes are on view at the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett.
Ms. McCafferty founded the Crazy Monkey Gallery as a fair trade boutique selling the work of area artisans around seven years ago. After several years, she switched the Crazy Monkey to a fine art gallery with herself as the director. In 2005, the gallery was converted again, this time to an artist cooperative. The current exhibition marks the first time her artwork is being featured. She has previously exhibited her jewelry and participated in group shows at the gallery.
The exhibition of works by Andrea McCafferty and Len Bernard remains on view at the Crazy Monkey Gallery at 136 Main Street, Amagansett, through August 30. A group show of co-op artists is on view in the side gallery. Gallery hours are Thursday through Monday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information, call 631-267-3627 or visit thecrazymonkeygallery.com.
on Aug 24, 2010