An Artist At Play

DIA exhibit evokes the world of childhood.

T

SUZANNE CHESSLER

Special to the Jewish News

o David Levinthal, toys are artistic sub-
jects to arrange and manipulate for his
camera.
The photo artist has devoted his
career to toys since the 1970s, when he was a
graduate student at Yale University. In his unique
work, he creates worlds from children's figurines

American Art Museum.
"The idea is that the box that holds the toys
also holds a world of imagination. Children get
figures, buildings and other things, but they are
free to create their own scenarios and, in a sense,
their own worlds."
To an outside observer, Levinthal's photos seem
to transform toys into something else, ranging
from wry to sarcastic to ominous. But the photog-
rapher considers this show as having a simpler

period and the culture that they come from.
"I also think a lot of this came our of a book
project that I did with a classmate, Garry Trudeau
(of Doonesbury fame). We re-created a history of
the Eastern Front in World War II using toy sol-
diers. The book was titled Hitler Moves East."
As Levinthal's work with toys expanded, he
found responses that were very visceral. He attrib-
utes that to the deep feelings people associate with
toys from their own pasts. He keeps the photo
backgrounds very simple to create a sense of space
and depth the images might not ordinarily have.
Levinthal did some teaching before going into
artistic photography full time and setting the
stage for many types of pictorial vignettes. One
series, shown at several Holocaust museums, uses
figures of Nazi leaders made in Germany during
the 1930s. Very different is his series on cowboys.
When Levinthal presents his lecture, there will

Far left:
A schoolhouse playset:
"The idea is that the
box that holds the toys
also holds a world
of imagination," says
David Levinthal.

Left: One series,
titled 'Mein Kampf,"
has been shown
at several Holocaust
museums.

and uses color film to photograph them.
Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box is a traveling
exhibit of 50 large-scale Levinthal photos on view
through Feb. 3 at the Detroit Institute of Arts
(DIA). The exhibit title comes from an essay about
Levinthal's work, written for a book done for the
show's sponsor, the Smithsonian Institution.
Michigan is the first stop on the show's tour.
In addition to the photos themselves, the show fea-
tures five of the actual playsets used in the photos.
Popular with the post-war generation, the sets consist of
soft plastic figures, props and tin environments manufac-
tured in the 1950s by Louis Marx & Co. of New York.
Levinthal will speak about his artistry at 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 11, at the DIA. He will examine the
contents of his photos as they express stories about
life and the career he built from a childhood interest.
"I think the exhibit title captures the whole sen-
sibility of these toys," explains Levinthal, 52, who
is based in New York and is represented in the
collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian

9/21
2001

70

approach — a replication of the childhood experi-
ence of playing with different types of designs.
One of the playsets featured in the DIA exhibit,
"The Super Circus," focuses on the figures,
scenery and action under the big top. In addition
to the bareback rider on a horse and the lion tamer
in the ring, there is a figure of a small boy kneel-
ing at the bottom of the circus tent trying to sneak
inside. Behind him, hands on hips, is a policeman.
Levinthal's depiction of this set uses light and
space to evoke memories of childhood circus visits.
"I started with photography in 1967, when I was
at Stanford University," Levinthal recalls. "I didn't
study photography in the formal sense. I worked
with people living in the area near the school.
"Since those learning experiences did not bring
course credit, I had to be very self motivated,
which was helpful in developing a strong, self-
critical sensibility about my work."
When he was in graduate school, the artist experi-
mented with a lot of different ideas. "I found toys
intriguing because they are representative of the time

be a chance to see the variety of work he has
done. He also will explore the technical side of his
approach, particularly for professional or hobby
photographers who might attend.
"I played with playsets when I was a child so
they're quite evocative for me," Levinthal says.
"They also reflect on an earlier age in which
imagination was less controlled externally. Toys
now are so connected to things like television and
movies that they seem to curtail the possibilities
of imaginative and creative play."

❑

Small Wonder: Worlds in a Box will be on view
through Feb. 3 at the DIA. Museum hours are
11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-5
p.m. Saturdays-Sundays and until 9 p.m. on the
first Friday of every month. Admission to the
exhibit is free with museum admission.
Levinthal will speak about his artistry at 8 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 11, at the DIA. (313) 833-7900.

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