Barbies Beyond Your Ken in Los Angeles
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The stars aligned when an exhibition, MDCT, had been assembling for five years was delayed by pandemic closures only to debut when the record-breaking “Barbie” movie opened.
While the movie touches upon familiar stirrings — e.g., body image and mass-marketing to children—the writing team of Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach introduces an untapped gripe as Barbie’s boyfriend Ken finds his nirvana in the world order of Los Angeles where males are the alphas. The genius of the story isn’t the message that while a patriarchal society has well-known drawbacks, a matriarchal society can also be oppressive. The underlying conceit is it’s possible to manufacture a billion opinions to go along with a billion Barbies. And yet Barbie in all her manifestations is universally adored by boys as well as girls because she’s fun and a toy. As for the adults, the fuss is also fun.
The truth is, my telepathic gifts cannot access the intentions of Gerwig, Baumbach or anyone else living east of the Catskills. My wordy conjecture was intended to lure in adults who might otherwise wince at the sound of Barbie’s name. A new exhibit in Los Angeles will reward quarrelsome intellectuals for withholding judgment. Everyone else has no need of toy polemics to enjoy every kind of Barbie, her relatives, friends, outfits, accessories and cars assembled in this groundbreaking exhibition.
Making Dreams Come True (MDCT)
In a limited engagement, MDCT Vault presents Barbies from the private collection of Mary Knight, whose mother is Filipina. The vintage pieces were curated by the owner to inhabit a nondescript building located at 1032 North Highland Avenue in West Hollywood. Once the exclusive exhibit, filling 150,000 square feet of floorspace, ends sometime in mid-September, an entirely new collection will open at a Texas address yet to be announced. Miami, New York City and Chicago dates are also in the works. In other words, this and every subsequent MDCT Vault exhibit is one-of-a-kind.
Mary Knight owns all the dolls, accessories and vintage cars in the MDCT West Hollywood exhibit, which includes a Philippines Barbie in the original packaging. (Photo courtesy of the MDCT Vault)
Google and Guinness list multiple claims to World’s Largest Barbie Collection. Until Arthur Andersen certifies a victor, Ms. Knight holds the informal title for her generosity in sharing her dolls with the world. Upon entering the museum, the diversity of her choices is front and center in the first gallery of Barbies from the around the world. The Philippines Barbie alone is worth the price of admission.
Sorry, Pink Is Stereotypical Barbie, But Not the Real Barbie
Early warning: Guests who expect to be engulfed in a tornado of shocking pink should either swallow a tablespoon of Pepto Bismol or sample another collector’s treasures (assuming that person lets strangers into her environmentally controlled cellar).
The Vault (Photo courtesy of the MDCT Vault)
Visitors are treated to an intimate up-close glimpse of many of the iconic Barbies in outfits that are more valuable than the dolls themselves. The lineup was always evolving with Barbies attired by Bob Mackie and other renown fashion designers. (Photo courtesy of the MDCT Vault)
“The history of Barbie isn’t pink,” states Ms. Knight adamantly beside a wall of original Barbies in white and black striped bathing suits. Ms. Knight is factual but not biased. During our interview, she is wearing pink corduroys and compliments visitors in pink dresses.
Highlights of the Los Angeles exhibit start with the Ponytail Room and its four walls of every version of Barbie, beginning with the first doll from 1959. Barbie’s little sis Skipper also has a room. And this Ken suffers no inferiority complex in his showroom of classic automobiles. The rarest find in the fleet is a silver 1954 Volkswagen Beetle with original heart-shaped taillights.
Happy days were truly here again in 1954 when this rare silver Volkswagen Beetle came off the assembly line. It recalls the Postwar mood in America leading up to the first Barbie introduced by Mattel in 1959. (Photo courtesy of the MDCT Vault)
The Ponytail Room (Photo courtesy of the MDCT Vault)
The Ponytail Room presents the first Barbie dolls beginning in 1959. Her hair was done up as the room’s name suggests but her stunning figure bordered on scandalous as the first doll in America’s toy stores that embodied a full-grown woman while her shelf mates were either infants or toddlers. (Photo courtesy of the MDCT Vault)
An Analog State of Mind
The exhibit includes an arts and crafts table for children and adults to interact in old-fashioned ways with DIY buttons, coloring pencils and markers, tiny trinkets and post-WWII/pre-Vietnam War hits on 45 rpm platters. Non-digital, tactile activities reflect Ms. Knight’s philosophy that toys are for fun, not educational tools. Everyone at the crafts table goes home with a bag of keepsakes personally curated by the owner.
Old things that aren’t tossed out of the time continuum exit the attic to be rejuvenated as new things to young eyes. Ms. Knight doesn’t reveal her age, but the first hundred Barbies in her collection definitely came before her time. Old souls don’t carry cell phones or talk to Amazon’s Alexa app, but she admits to a nostalgia for the Twentieth Century. Think of her as a renewed soul with a preference for dolls from the fifties through the seventies. “The early Barbies are so intricate. Back then, the clothes and accessories typically cost more than the dolls themselves.” She points out, “The Japanese garments, in particular, were exclusive and very expensive because of their abundance of detail.”
Dolls Don’t Wrinkle
Ms. Knight keeps her dolls clean and will intervene to stop worn apparel from sticking to bodies, but she doesn’t mind skin tone that shows maturity. A propensity that distinguishes her from untanned collectors is she likes how her oldest Barbies grow whiter with age.
“Highlights of the Los Angeles exhibit start with the Ponytail Room and its four walls of every version of Barbie, beginning with the first doll from 1959.”
Her advice to beginning collectors is: “Buy what you like and find beautiful. You have to love dolls and not be motivated by what’s going to become valuable.” She says, “Collecting is time consuming. I attend auctions, visit antique stores, and people contact me about selling me their dolls. It’s expensive. Number One (the 1959 Barbie) now sells for $27,500.”
She can rattle off the latest prices though doll valuations don’t rule her thoughts. Her decision to remove some of her most valuable dolls from their original boxes for display purposes suggests that money isn’t a chief worry. MDCT Vault is the quintessential labor of love. Ms. Knight is living proof of the existence of individuals who find joy in bringing meaningful experiences to others at her own expense.
Changing Hearts and Minds of the Jaded
She takes pride in her Filipino heritage, though she thinks more of her kabayans should follow their passions, as she did in building her Barbie and vintage car collections. “Filipinos love to study, but we’re also very creative. I hope my collection can inspire others to take risks. My dream is to hear someone say I inspired their interest in collecting, or I gave them the courage to pursue their dreams. That would be my legacy.”
Ms. Knight comes across as an intriguing contradiction because of her guarded privacy that’s vulnerable to compromise by a preternatural magnetism and mysterious accent. Providing few biographical details ought to focus attention on the exhibit, but guests can’t help but ponder the personality behind this delightful production. Some answers arise when the crowds subside, and she has time to lead patient guests on a private tour of hers and Barbie’s worlds. Adults, whose attitudes have taken a jaded turn from emotional wear and tear, are sure to undergo a conversion as she continues her mission of making dreams come true.
Reserve tickets in advance at this link. Vault tickets are dwindling fast following a recent appearance on the KTLA morning news program.
Anthony Maddela is working on a novel and helps support his family of four by grant writing, freelance copywriting and editing. He’s excited for the start of the new European football season and hopes this is the year his hometown Seattle Mariners reach the World Series. He appreciates your prayers as he has his third PET scan the week of this article’s publication.
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