Academy Award Action Figures
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The Academy Award Action Figures (AKA Oscar Dolls) are handmade replicas of fashion worn at the Academy Awards and at A-list Oscar night parties. I make each dress by hand based on my extensive collection of magazine clippings and web posts. The advent of the internet made researching the dresses much easier than it was in 1997 when I had to rely solely on People and In Style magazines. I use old fashion dolls, primarily Barbies, to construct the Action Figures, but my focus has always been on the clothing, not the doll. Although I make some effort to select a good likeness of the celebrity subject and to style the hair and makeup, I make no claim to being a repaint artist, or even a very good OOAK doll artist, nor do I aspire to be one.
For me, the interest lies in the cult of celebrity and the deification of those select few who transcend mere Hollywood stardom to rise to the level of the Oscar elect. Even to be nominated is an honor, as once a person as been chosen, she will forever be identified as “Oscar nominee Sue Smith”. So great is the power of the throne that even being among the ladies of the court as presenters, performers or escorts accords press coverage far out of proportion to film premieres, other awards shows and even weddings.
Although Elizabeth Taylor married multiple times, it is difficult to call to mind any of her well-publicized wedding dresses. Julia Roberts has walked a thousand press gauntlets wearing all manner of designer fashions. Bjork has a career full of mind-bending haute couture moments. Yet, which dress sticks in your mind? The Oscar dress.
It is the intangible magic of that fleeting moment when fame, fashion, the media machine and the public appetite for golden idols come together that I am exploring with the Academy Award Action Figures.
There are currently about 150 dolls in the collection which is always growing. They are not and have never been for sale, however they do occasionally go out on public exhibit.
