 "Photo: Joe Muldoon/Poly Post")
A beloved toy can hold many memories, but toys long abandoned can share memories and stories that are just as fascinating.
This is the premise behind "Childish Things," an exhibit of photographs by artists Davis and Davis on display at the Downtown Center through April 26.
"I think it's a good exhibit, and it's different," said Jonnie Owens, community outreach coordinator for the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. "We haven't had a photography show in a while, and it's different photography, telling a story."
Davis and Davis produce their photographs by collecting toys people have thrown away, given away to thrift stores or are selling at flea markets.
These are used as the subjects of the photographs, although some unique items are used in conjunction, such as an 1829 woodblock print by Ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Hokusai entitled "The Great Wave off Kanagawa," which provides the wave a mother and daughter surf upon in "Tsunami Girls."
Davis and Davis shoot with a shallow focus that sharpens the center of interest and leaves the rest blurry, which suggests the cloudy recall of memory, according to their artist's statement.
One of these photographs is "Major Tom," in which an astronaut floats helplessly through space after his umbilical cord is severed from a spaceship rocketing toward two Earths that are side by side.
How quickly the photo ideas form depends on the subject.
"With some toys, we knew what to do with them as soon as we found them," said Davis and Davis in an e-mail interview. "Sometimes it was just a matter of getting several toys together for a shot, like in 'Major Tom.' First we found the rocket, then a year later, we found the astronaut, then six months after that we found the planets. Then we got the idea."
Some of the stories Davis and Davis' photographs tell are straightforward, while others contain double entendres. One of these that has captured the attention of people at the Downtown Center is "Spool Baby," in which a baby pushes along a spool of thread, and right behind is a woman tangled in the string.
"I've heard a lot of comments about what that photo implies - that the mother is in bondage because of the baby," said Owens.
Because some of the double entendres can be strong, Owens was nervous when groups of fifth graders would visit the exhibit to learn more about art. However, she has received no negative feedback about the exhibit.
In fact, Owens said the fifth graders had their concept of art expanded due to the exhibit.
"They might think art is just a painting or just a sculpture or something," said Owens. "They might never have thought about a photograph of toys being art."
Davis and Davis' photographs aren't always about double entendres and challenging concepts or art, however.
Owens found enjoyment in her favorite photograph, "Tack Boy" - in which a boy with a surprised look on his face stands next to a chair with a tack on it - because it is a funny, relatable image.
"I love 'Tack Boy,'" said Owens. "I think there's a little bit of 'Tack Boy' in all of us."
Davis and Davis also chose their favorite photograph, "Bungee Baby," because they liked the concept of the story.
"It recalls 'Looney Tunes' cartoons where characters fall from the sky and hit the ground, but then they just dust themselves off and keep going," said Davis and Davis.
"There is a tension in 'Bungee Baby' between the audience, the toy Dad, and the Baby. Will the Dad get to the Baby in time? In our scenario it doesn't even matter … because the Baby is attached to a string."
Overall, Owens hopes "Childish Things" gets people thinking about how they approach art.
"I hope they would ask themselves, 'What story would I tell if I were doing this? If I had the camera?' and maybe challenge their whole concept of photography as telling a story," said Owens.
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