Real Doll, Raquel 3, from the series Real Dolls

Inscriptions

Initialled, on reverse, lower right, in graphite: MG; numbered, on reverse, lower left, in graphite: 8/10

Label

Martín Gutierrez is an artist who constantly questions gender identity in their work. In the Real Dolls series, Gutierrez transforms their own body into a living mannequin or doll. The photographs show these dolls within a home environment, creating a constructed context for the viewer to imagine the doll operating within. This work depicts Raquel, one of the four doll identities Gutierrez adopts in the series. Raquel’s body positioning is angular, like a doll’s, although elegant in a flowing pink gown and stylized hair and makeup. The doll uses the color pink as a tool to heighten the expression of femininity.

The Real Dolls series was inspired by Gutierrez’s research into life sex dolls. Elevating the sex doll subject through formal dress and a place at the dinner table does not mitigate the sexualized nature of the work. Despite the ethereal, dreamlike lighting, the work’s atmosphere is uneasy; the sex doll is a powerless object. Gutierrez’s depiction of the four lifeless dolls highlights the problematic nature of such "women" as sex objects created purely for the pleasure of men.

From the 2019 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 96, The Politics of Pink, curated by Charlotte Grussing '19, Conroy Intern

Course History

WGST 65.6, Radical Sexuality: Of Color, Wildness and Fabulosity, Eng-Beng Lim, Winter 2015

WRIT 5, Visual Culture, Aimee Bahng, Winter 2015

WRIT 8, Writing with Media, Kenneth Bauer, Spring 2015

Exhibition History

A Space for Dialogue 96, The Politics of Pink, Charlotte Grussing,Class of 2019, Conroy Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 28-November 3, 2019.

About Face: Self-Portraiture in Contemporary Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 23-August 30, 2015.

Publication History

Charlotte Grussing,Class of 2019, Conroy Intern, A Space for Dialogue 96, The Politics of Pink, Hanover, New Hampshire, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 2019.

Provenance

Ryan Lee Gallery, New York, New York; sold to present collection, 2014.

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Subjects