Worlds and myths of the author’s doll

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of the artistic status of the modern author’s doll as a synthetic art form, in the context of the “Do it yourself” movement (DIY). The phenomenon of the creative process of master of puppetry and of puppets as an artefact of a creative activity is being studied. The imagery and artistic value of a modern author’s doll, as a self-sufficient and active phenomenon of mass culture, is determined in accordance with the criteria for evaluating objects of fine art. The morphology of the author’s doll is analyzed in a historical perspective and in the circumstances of current socio-cultural formats of «sales exhibitions» – on the examples of the projects of the International Doll Salon (“Spring ball of author’s dolls”, “Autumn ball of author’s dolls”), the activities of the Puppet Gallery “Vakhtanov” by I. Myzina and the Cultural Foundation “Dolls of the world” (exhibition “The art of the doll”). The idea of customization, as an integral factor in the dynamics of modern convergent culture, in the context of the study dialogues with the concept of “One of a kind” (OOAK) characteristic of the puppeteer community. Mass production and mass demand for Barbie and Blythe dolls is considered from the position of realizing the creative potential of the followers of the maker-culture subculture. The authorship of the doll is considered as a marker of the special status of this cultural object.