Bucket of Barbies by Paul Rienzo
Framed, Acrylic on Board
36" W x 42" H
The bucket is a metaphor with many meanings - throwing away, categorization, and once put in a bucket you can be dismissed, minimized and forgotten. A full bucket can be excessive, over the top, and too common (dime a dozen).
I chose an ice bucket because it's used to keep wine and beer cold in restaurants, resorts and room service. So there is leisure and good times that are associated with it. The bucket sits on a chair draped with shiny pink vinyl. The dolls are arranged in the bucket as if they are flowers or bottles.
Although a few of the dolls are Barbies, most are not. But the design influence is obvious. They are used dolls, evident in their disheveled clothes and tangled fly away hair. Perhaps they were cast away by their owner who has outgrown them, or has newer dolls. But they engage the viewer, longing to be picked out of the Goodwill pile.
On a different level. It is also just a bucket of dolls that taps into childhood and parental memories. ~ Paul Rienzo
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