Family Fun / Arts & Leisure

Move over Barbie... Melanie De Keyrel Bell brings modern art dolls to Bucktown

By Times staff | Monday, August 04, 2008 | () comments

(contributed photo)

Artist Melanie De Keyrel Bell will introduce you to modern art dolls with her display, opening at the Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport during its Final Friday reception this week.

“As almost an accident. I was introduced to modern art dolls during a lesson with my graduate school mentor, David McCall Johnston, an internationally known illustrator,” Bell says in her artist statement. “My thesis illustration/printmaking show centered around the vintage circus and sideshow, and he brought his collection to show costume choices. I was completely amazed by these figures, as it was something I had never seen before. Here was a branch of the art world that could encompass everything I loved. Whether the processes used were considered art or craft, the result was fine art. I began creating my own dolls over the summer, and by the time my (master of fine arts) show was hung, the dolls had taken it over. By the time I graduated, I had come full circle in what I believed art was: It was many things.”

Bell and Heidi Hernandez have combined for a show titled “Duality of Whimsey.”