Barbie: art or commerce? Discuss...

Recently I took in "The Barbie Story", an exhibition at the Hangaram Design Museum. Billed as the world's largest Barbie doll exhibition, the display was sponsored by the Austrian Embassy in Seoul. (Huh? — can someone please explain the connection?). This was a fascinating experience on many levels, and raised some interesting questions about consumerism vs. art — not to mention the fetishization of a tiny plastic doll!

The growing cult of consumerism is explored in an excellent BBC World Service series on the subject. The programs can be heard on-demand at the web site for the series.

To see my pictures from the Barbie exhibit, click here.

To learn more about Barbie, read her entry on Wikipedia.