DEL.ICIO.USMY FAVORITE PIECE
Print is reminder of issues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lisa Moore, Atlanta
Background: Moore is an attorney and the executive director of Georgia Lawyers for the Arts, a nonprofit that helps artists with all kinds of legal issues, from censorship to wills. She and her husband, Andrew Pequignot, an entertainment lawyer for Kilpatrick Stockton, collect contemporary photography. They recently built a home in Virginia-Highland and plan to have a graffiti artist, who goes by the name Never, do an installation in a stairwell.
LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC
‘Barbie in a Toaster Oven’ has significance for artists’ advocate Lisa Moore because of Mattel’s attempt to squelch the Tom Forsythe photo.
LOUIE FAVORITE/AJC
Lisa Moore says ‘Barbie in a Toaster Oven’ is the first artwork she received from her husband, Andrew Pequignot.
Favorite piece: “Barbie in a Toaster Oven,” by Utah photographer Tom Forsythe. It’s a limited-edition color print that’s part of his “Food Chain Barbie” series. It shows a naked Barbie doll lying sideways, as if roasting in the oven. Forsythe famously prevailed in a civil suit brought by the world’s largest toy maker, Mattel, which wasn’t happy about his use of its plastic icon. Forsythe was defended for free by the American Civil Liberties Union and a private law firm. In a scathing ruling against Mattel in 2003, California’s 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the toy company to pay $2.1 million to his lawyers. The artist, who said his work was intended to skewer stereotyping of women and “crass consumerism,” prevailed mostly on First Amendment grounds.
Why she likes it: Not only does the photo symbolize the kind of legal work Moore does, it was the first artwork she received from her husband. The photo hangs over the oven and is a daily reminder that no real woman fits the ideal represented by Barbie.
“It’s reassuring to see that photo when I pop a frozen pizza in the oven,” Moore said. “It’s like, it’s OK. Barbie’s in the toaster oven. Nobody can be Barbie, the perfect domestic goddess and subservient wife.”
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