12 / 12 2019 – 19 / 01 2020

“Yes, we Ken!”

Pasinger Fabrik
Munich, Germany

Watch the show on münchen.tv

About Ken on contemporary art and society
Curators: Augusta Laar and Stefan-Maria Mittendorf

When Elliot and Barbara Handler invented Barbie’s “boyfriend” for the Mattel company in 1961, he was modelled on the male ideal of the time, singer Neil Diamond. From then on, the well-dressed and somewhat stuffy Ken stood by Barbie’s side as partner and inventor of her special household appliances. Ken and Barbie thus represented the American dream couple and advanced to become the plastic icons of Western culture. As a mirror of social developments, Ken became “Superstar Ken 1977” and “Earring Magic Ken 1993”. The “Hipster Ken” with a fashionable man’s bun no longer casts doubt on Ken’s contemporaneity.
The exhibition focuses on the construction and transformation of the male image, exemplified by the legendary Ken doll and its reception in art and society. Not only will Augusta Laar’s unique Ken collection of almost 100 dolls be presented, but the two curators have also invited international contemporary artists who have dealt intensively with the Ken doll by Mattel and who reflect on male identity and social change.

Participating artists
Dörthe Bäumer (Germany), Birthe Blauth (Germany), Stefan Stratil (Austria), Jana Cruder (USA), Dina Goldstein (Canada), Augusta Laar (Germany), Felix Müller (Germany), Olaf Probst (Germany), Sands Murray-Wassink (Netherlands), Rose Stach & Gisbert Stach (Germany) and Robert Weissenbacher (Germany).