Sunday, October 23, 2011

Toys and People

After seeing the Stein exhibit, a week later, we went to see the toy exhibit. In French it says "Des Jouets et des Hommes", which literally translates as "Toys and Men", but it's "men" meaning "man" or "mankind" and that just doesn't work any more. So, Toys and People, to me.
There's a bit on the history of toys, earliest documentation of toys. An early Grecian tea set! Some Renaissance royal miniature carriages and so on. There are paintings, many of them by women, because, I guess, representing children with toys was a more domestic, amateur painter's fancy. There are, however, some very official paintings with children and their toys. The exhibit has themes. There are the horses, from the basic head of a horse on a stick to "My Little Pony" via the Fisher Price horse on wheels (of which we still have one dating back to Claire's time).

There are pull toys, dolls and doll houses. There are modern art installations, like Barbie Foot by Chloe Ruchon. There's a very interesting couple of photos: a girl in pink in her pink room surrounded by all her pink objects and toys and a boy in blue in his blue room surrounded by all his blue toys and other objects. There are professional themes, with girls being led to playing nurse or teacher and boys off to soldier or fireman. There are video games: war games, Sim City, being a vetrinarian, taking care of horses.... Films on toys or with toys in the plot: Babes in Toyland; Citizen Kane, Toy Story, ....
Again, no waiting on line. Well, this time, there was no one else waiting, and we had our Carte Sésame. So, if you are going to the Grand Palais and feel there are too many people crowding into the Stein exhibit, go to the corner and take in this Toy one.

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