8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, August 13, 1997 'U' Barbie arrives in stores, targets alums, youth, collectors By Stephanie Hepburn Barbie and customized her for each university region by color Daily Staff Reporter of her cheerleading uniform and logo on her shirt for the 19 Dressed in maize and blue, the new University of Michigan universities." cheerleader Barbie has found its home on the shelves of Ann Mattel plans to add 15 more universities to the collection Arbor toy stores, as well as stores near the University's Flint by next year. and Dearborn campuses. McKendall predicts that alumni, fans and children of alum- Barbie dons the colors of 19 universities, selected on the ni will be the majority of consumers and to a lesser degree basis of stadium and student size and the level of collegiate- collectors. licensed product sales. In addition to the University, Barbie Ken Peterson, public relations dolls represent other schools, including spokesperson for Toys 'R' Us, Georgetown, Miami, Texas and Penn revealed that more stock of the new The Universi State Universities, as well as the Wolverine Barbie was concentrated University of North Carolina and the in University campus stores due to rbie should haVe University of Georgia. the traditionally high collegiate sales Unlike baseball hats, university for University merchandise. wide appeal ... Barbies are sold only in the region sur- "The University is in the top three rounding the school. The University of in collegiate-licensed product sales - Ken Peterson Michigan Barbie can only be found in across the country," Peterson said. Toys 'R' Us spokesperson Michigan, while Penn State Barbie is Peterson said he anticipates good on the shelves only in Pennsylvania. sales for the Wolverine Barbie. Some alumni and students are not "The doll should sell very well. Currently all stores should enchanted by University Barbie's arrival on campus. have a good quantity on hand," he said. "The University Dona Weisman, an alumna of the University, believes that Barbie should have a wide appeal, both children and the cheerleading University Barbie does not exemplify University students are predicted to be big consumers of the women at the University. product." "University Barbie ... as representative of the university is Lisa McKendall, director for marketing communications regressive, bringing back the obstacles of the trophy female for Mattel, Inc., the doll's manufacturer, said the university that the University is trying to make obsolete," Weisman said. barbie doll is a unique and new experience for Mattel. "Barbie poses an unrealistic model for young girls." "This is the first time that one Mattel product has been cus- The University will receive an 8-percent royalty from each tomized for certain regions, McKendall said. "We took one pom-pom-bearing University Barbie sold. y E. 50OH5DAN DAS C AP, A A, Kewei Wang restores ancient Asian artwork in the basement of the University Museum of Art. Wang is one of only a few Asian art conservators worldwide. U'revves Asian ar't.i UM Student Participation Wanted for a Marketing Survey, 1 By Dolores Arabo Daily Staff Reporter Asian art conservator Kewei Wang has an extraordinary talent that only a few of the world's population have learned to master. Wang works eight hours every day in the University Museum of Art's Asian Conservation Lab to restore pieces of Chinese art from all over the world. "She is just like a doctor," said Marshall Wu, senior curator ofAsian art. "When the patient is very sick - per- haps even needs a heart - she can give life and bring the original glory back." The collection of Asian art in the United States began about 100 years ago. Many of the imported pieces were damaged because of their fragility. Wu said that during the "olden days" of the 11th and 12th century, Chinese art was not hung on walls or publically presented. Instead, art was created with the intention of preservation. The Chinese tradition of art changed in the 15th and 16th century. People began to hang paintings and present the art. The materials became lighter and softer. Japanese art, however, which was brought from China in the I lth century, remained true to the original art form. Finding a skilled conservator is not an easy task, Wu said. After two years in China spent searching for a conser- vator, Wu finally found one. Thus, the University museum's first Asian Conservation Lab began in 1987. "The University has given us a tremendous amount of support from the beginning until now, which we do appreciate," Wu said. The conservation lab is primaril funded by the Starr foundation in Nes York, which sponsors many other museums and cultural activities. Wang began training to be a conser- vator in her early teens at the Palace Museum in Beijing. She continued her career at the Mannheim Kunsthalle in Germany where Wu discovered her. "(A conservator's job) requires more than talent - it requires a lot of dedi- cation and discipline," Wu said. "I just wish that more young people could fac this kind of challenge." Before museums hired conservators and created conservation labs, many sent damaged art to Japan for restora- tion, which was costly, time-consuming and damaging to the art. Training is a difficult process that involves a fusion of thoughts, knowl- edge and movement, Wu said. "You make no mistakes," Wu said. "You can not afford to make any mi4 takes. It's rewarding to see people's reactions when they see their work completed. We have never received one complaint." 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