Reviews of Childish
Things
book by Los Angeles artists Davis
& Davis
Coagula Art Journal
issue #70 Oct., 2004:
Swag
by Mat Gleason
Childish Things
Davis & Davis
Santa Monica Press
The husband and
wife team deliver devious scenarios captured on film. Art that is
clever without
being smarmy is a rare thing in the art world. If they get much more
famous
though, I am going to have to start claiming I discovered them, as some
of
the images in this book were juried into a group show years ago by
yours
truly. This is the perfect present for someone whose conformist brain
needs
expanding, so reserve a case for the next family reunion.
Step Inside Design
Vol. 20 No. 5,
Sept./Oct., 2004:
the good book:
from annuals to manuals
Childish Things
by Denise & Scott Davis
Ever wonder what
became of your favorite childhood kwepie doll? The
poor thing is now being dragged off the stage of a baby beauty
pageant, at least in the eyes of photographer team Davis & Davis in
their
book Childish Things. Find out what happened to the rest of your slew
of toys, but be prepared for the worst. "Just as cherished toys recall
the joys and warmth of a happy childhood," write the authors, "so lost
and abandoned toys retain repressed memories of prepubescent traumas
and
the deep-seated guilt associated with the playing of forbidden games."
Featuring such images as "Bungee
Baby," in which a father runs to catch a baby falling out a window,
"Bleach
Baby," a disturbing image of a young girl with pasty lips standing
next to an over turned teacup, and "Candy,"
where a lost doll turns to the adult entertainment industry in a
desperate
attempt to grow up. "While abandoned toys are rejected outright, lost
toys represent something evicted from consciousness as in a Freudian
slip," explain Davis & Davis of their intricate setups. These
troubling
photographs depict alarming scenarios that could only be brought on by
unfortunate occurences, or at least vivid imaginations. The authors
clarify
further how the idea for this odd book came to them, and they decded to
go for it: "As found in parking lots, on sidewalks or in thrift stores,
these toys lack meaningful context and purpose - a situation we attempt
to correct ... By this means, we hope to achieve for the former toy
owners
a measure of catharsis by proxy." The images in Childish Things ought
to
elicit some sort of emotional response from the reader, be it laughter
or tears.
$19.95, softcover, 96 pages, Santa Monica Press (www.santamonicapress.com)
Los Angeles Magazine
Sept., 2004:
Buzz Cuts
Babies
fall from second
story windows. An Eskimo child is attacked by a
leaping orca.
In the photo book, Childish Things, L.A. artists Davis & Davis
place
tiny figurines in bizarre settings unintended by the original toy
makers. After perusing this book, we'll never look at our bendable
little friends in quite the same way.
Clear
Vol. 4 Issue 2, 2004:
Simple Things
Davis & Davis
(Santa Monica Press)
standing
on a chair lifts her skirt to a worm; When
we saw this
book hoisting that quintessential icon of childhood - the doll - we
thought
tea parties and dress up. Not exactly. Brought to us by husband and
wife
photographers Scott and Denise Davis, Childish Things is anything but
and
features fifty (sic) images of salvaged dolls and other abandoned
playthings in unexpected settings: a girlie
dolla spotted
kewpie doll stares in a mirror, reflecting her button-candy
backdrop. These visual stories cunningly explore the darker side of
childhood while demystifying a few notions of innocence. And when
you've got Pee Wee Herman singing your praises ... well it really
doesn't get any more childish (and twisted) than that.
Curve
November, 2004:
Curvatures: Top Ten: Reasons We Still Play With Toys
by Andy Wright
In their wickedly delightful
new photographic compendium of discarded children's
toys, Childish Things (Santa Monica Press), collaborators Davis
and Davis (also known as Denise and Scott) envision a curious
playground
that reminds us that "Just as cherished toys recall the joys and warmth
of a happy childhood," write the authors, "so lost and abandoned toys
retain repressed memories of prepubescent traumas and the deep-seated
guilt associated with the playing of forbidden games." Well, duh. You
knew that, right? With an evocative mix of the malevolent and
whimsical,
D & D's carefully constructed, candy-colored photos (like Dottie
here) place discarded dolls in unnerving and often sexual situaions,
which will remind you of a time you peeked up your dolly's skirt only
to be confronted with a depressingly desolate bump. Lesbians know that
toys have always had split personalities, at once cute and creepy (and
quite often subversibly queer).
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Sept. 11, 2004:
Recent Arrivals
The
Davises are a professional photographic team, as well as wife and
husband, who live and work in Los Angeles. This collection of photos -
lost dolls and toys, recovered by the photographers and posed in
weirdly offbeat scenes - is
a sort of paean to the darker moments of childhood.
San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday, November 17, 2004:
Childhood isn't what it used to be. In the arts, it's dark and
complex
by Steven Winn
Husband-and-wife
photographers Davis & Davis use generic dime-store dolls and props
to create their woozily colored "Childish Things" images that run from
impish to teasing to sinister. Baby dolls tumble
from windows and plunge perilously off
their high chairs. In one panel of "The
Kissers" diptych, a young boy and girl shyly experiment; in the
other, with both plastic hands demurely tucked in their plastic
pockets, the two boys nuzzle while the girl looks on. A selection of
the photographs were on view recently at the Heather Marx Gallery; the
"Childish Things" book is published by Santa Monica Press.