Paper Cuts: 200 Years of Black Paper Dolls
January 25, 2009 – March 29, 2009

Toys, like other artifacts of material culture, reveal much about prevailing cultural attitudes and the exercise of power in society. Mass produced toys, such as paper dolls, are specifically designed for wide appeal and, therefore, reflect dominant attitudes and values—often at the expense of subordinated cultures. Since a successful toy must delight and interest a child, comical and simplistic caricatures of minorities often occur both to entertain as well as to draw a line between dominant and subordinate cultures.

Opening January 25, 2009 in honor of African American History Month, Paper Cuts: 200 Years of Black Paper Dolls documents the evolving cultural images of African Americans throughout the last 200 years: from Little Black Sambo to Tiger Woods; from Josephine Baker to Beyoncé. Drawn from the extensive collection of writer and researcher Arabella Grayson, the exhibit will feature some of the first black paper dolls produced in the United States—the family of characters from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin—and the rise of one of the most recognizable African Americans in advertising, Aunt Jemimah. Using paper dolls as social and historic markers, the exhibit travels from the civil rights movement to present day sports and entertainment figures while illuminating changing cultural images of African Americans. Paper Cuts presents an enlightening, and often unsettling, record of American cultural attitudes. No longer simple playthings, paper dolls are vehicles of satire, of critique, and, more importantly, are a tribute to exceptional people and events. Paper Cuts will be a learning experience both in the gallery and in a host of workshops, tours, and classes scheduled during this not-to-miss exhibit.

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This exhibit is supported in part by Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles, Institute of Museum and Library Services, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, and The Annenberg Foundation.