Barbie and the inspiration in the work of Wayne Thiebaud
One of the most anticipated films of recent years, the live action of the most famous doll in the world, Barbie, premiered less than a month ago and is a success with the public and at the box office. Since its announcement, the film has generated different expectations. After all, what to expect from a doll movie?
Directed by one of the most promising women in the business, Greta Gerwig, the film exceeded audience expectations and has already passed the US$ 1 billion mark at the box office, becoming the biggest film directed by a woman.
Whether discussing the role of the doll in society,mocking the patriarchy or talking about what it means to be a woman, the film is much more than the live action of a doll. And proof of that are the inspirations that the director and screenwriter used to create Barbielândia, the ideal world where Barbies live and command all sectors of society. One of these inspirations is the artist Wayne Thiebaud!
Who is Wayne Thiebaud?
Wayne Thiebaud is a renowned American artist, originally from Mesa, Arizona and one of the main names in Pop Art! The artist is known for his paintings of everyday objects and urban scenes, often exploring themes related to food, particularly desserts.
Thiebaud is world renowned for his
your brush strokethe striking and vibrant colors, which deliver a three-dimensional and almost sculptural quality to his works. Your approachThe unique act unites realism with a touch of humor and exaggeration, creating images with a close eye on ordinary objects.
One of her most iconic and well-known series is painting cakes, pies and ice cream, in which she explores textures and shapes in a detailed and engaging way. This series is one of the inspirations that Greta Gerwig used to develop the Barbieland setting.
Wayne Thiebaud and Barbie
Barbieland, the magical world where Barbies live, is a true fantasy. Full of pink, the scenario was all created and developed in a studio, without the help of technologies such as CGI, for example. For this, Greta and the production designer of the
film, Sarah Greenwood, used a pink pigment that led to a worldwide shortage of Rosco brand fluorescent paint. But what does that have to do with Wayne Thiebaud?
According to Greenwood,the pygmyA specific color was used to create about 12 different shades of pink, which were used throughout the film's setting. This is a direct result of director Gerwig's admiration for Thiebaud's work. Yet
according to the production designer, this comes from the work of Thiebaud, who never uses black and white in his paintings. In this case, their shadows were made with shades of blues and purples.
Barbie's color scheme followed this pattern, using no black, white or chrome tones to create the dolls' fantasy world, just different shades of pink.
the different shapesof art
The seventh art, better known as Cinema, has always used parallels with the different existing art forms. Whether in the representation of a plan inspired by a painting, in the lighting or in the colors. The arts overlap to create a new concept, a new art.
As much as Barbie is a worldwide blockbuster and the first contact may seem futile for many, the work developed by the film's Art Direction transcends the superficial, by focusing on details that enrich the production.
In addition to having a script that runs away from expectations, we can notice the attention to detail in the development of the main scenarios, clothes and even the hair of the main character, Stereotypical Barbie, played by Margot Robbie. This is because the wig used by the actress was daily toned with a toner developed especially for the film. The intention was to neutralize the yellowness of the blonde and avoid a great contrast between the costumes and the character's hair.
Finally, the attention to detail present in Art Direction only enriches Greta Gerwig's work and reinforces that art can present itself in different ways and feed back, inspiring new works and perspectives in the most different platforms and formats. Barbie is just another example of how art perpetuates itself and inspires new artists.