PERFECTION IS BEYOND MY KEN
PERFECTION IS BEYOND MY KEN is a newly redone 70x42 mixed media piece mounted on wood. It is comprised of 30 articulated, vintage, real Ken dolls-- 29 white, one black. The three-dimensional resin letters on top are painted with acrylics and mounted on a (hinged) wooden shelf. Two cloth American flags are attached at each end. The black resin letter “I” is 6X3.
Skinny, muscular, blonde, handsome, blue-eyed, well proportioned white males are created by the doll company as examples of the ideal male body: PERFECTION. (Um, perfect except for the lack of male parts on all but one Ken. That one is anatomically correct. Sort of.) As for me: untoned, fat and eyes of hazel, I do not fit that American ideal. Me and a bunch of other imperfects. We are not perfection. Which, in case you didn’t notice, is why there is no letter "I" in perfection at the top. The black "I" hangs isolated to the side. The black eye. And over on the left, black Ken. Outside the pale. God bless American idealism. #kendoll #foundobjects #flag #malenude #muscle #afroamerican #anatomy #satire #bodyshaming #muscleman #malephysique #physique #bodytone #gay #ketchumart #kenandbarbie #peterjketchum #ketchumart #artspanpeterjketchum
Skinny, muscular, blonde, handsome, blue-eyed, well proportioned white males are created by the doll company as examples of the ideal male body: PERFECTION. (Um, perfect except for the lack of male parts on all but one Ken. That one is anatomically correct. Sort of.) As for me: untoned, fat and eyes of hazel, I do not fit that American ideal. Me and a bunch of other imperfects. We are not perfection. Which, in case you didn’t notice, is why there is no letter "I" in perfection at the top. The black "I" hangs isolated to the side. The black eye. And over on the left, black Ken. Outside the pale. God bless American idealism. #kendoll #foundobjects #flag #malenude #muscle #afroamerican #anatomy #satire #bodyshaming #muscleman #malephysique #physique #bodytone #gay #ketchumart #kenandbarbie #peterjketchum #ketchumart #artspanpeterjketchum