Deconstructing Barbie

Over the past few years, artists and critics have used the Barbie doll as a target for deconstructing stereotypes of the ideal woman. Barbie was an easy object to focus on because, for a couple of generations of young girls, this doll stood out as an icon of the woman they felt they should try to be. There have been five or so shows in Sacramento in recent years that have dealt with this issue. On this month’s Second Saturday, the Center for Contemporary Art opened the latest, this time with a little spin—black velvet. Fifty local artists have participated in this year’s show, yet each piece seems to explore an aspect of the Barbie legacy a little differently, with the touch of black velvet adding a nice backdrop. Although the idea of deconstructing Barbie isn’t new, it’s still an exercise that proves—at least in this show—to be not only fun and a little unsettling, but insightful as well. Barbie and Black Velvet is showing at the Center for Contemporary Art, 1516 Del Paso Blvd. It runs through February.