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7/12/2011
Sybarite 3 Day Event: "The Scarlet Ribbon Affaire"
I'd like to be a fly on the wall for this.
In case you are wondering what the currency conversion is: £2265 = $3612.22 = €2570.61
Although I admire some of the Syb dolls and fashions; I think they should invest in a graphic designer. I find the promo material is all very messy, and overtly "photoshop novice". It goes beyond tounge and cheek amateur. Such gorgeous (and pricey) dolls deserve to be shown in high res! No more streched out pixelated pictures please.
Sorry, a bit off topic; but I had to get that off my chest.
I was quite shocked when I saw the flyer, my first re-action was black face and I felt ill. Underneath it says "2 African Boys". I am not sure that was the intention, but that was my first re-action. When I looked closer at the picture, it is the Superfrock happyface logo..but it still took me by surprise, but not in a good way..I know the boys love to shock but...
Both creators of the Sybarites are natives of South Africa, which is where the "2 African Boys Productions" comes from. Long-time Sybarite collectors are well aware that this is how they've always referred to themselves. It's meant as a tribute to their country of birth. The smiley faces are also a well-known trademark they've used since they begun. The attire on the two men is mid to late 19th century and is only alluding to the theme, The Scarlet Ribbon Affaire - kind of like a Sherlock Holmes mystery set in London, if you will. I can understand people who are unfamiliar with Sybarite collecting perhaps seeing more into it due to the sad history of racism in our country, but in all fairness, this was something emailed to Sybarite collectors on Superfrock's email list and posted only on their site. Sybarite collectors understood all the references and it was never Superfrock's intention to shock in the manner suggested.
Susan, that is good to know, but it was still my immediate reaction to the picture..I am a Sybarite collector so it does not have anything to do with being unfamiliar with the dolls as you suggested and I too received this email, before I saw it posted on Terri's blog (and other blogs),...it was a gut re-action as I said above. The picture and the graphics definately had a mintrel, vaudeville show tone...even though my re-action stems from as you said the sad (ongoing) history of racism in my country...Britain is not unfamiliar with the practise of blackface...in fact it lasted longer in Britain with "The Black and White Minstrel Show" being cancelled by BBC in as late as 1978 but still touring as a show until 1987. I will not apologize for my feelings. I am not one to publically post my opinions usually but it was a strong enough reflex for me to speak out and I am not the only one that had that re-action...even though something may be unintentional or that it is seen in a subjective way, it does not mean that it is not a valid responce. I would think if someone does truly care about racism they would not be adverse to hearing someone's honest perceptions on the subject..
I felt I was being very respectful of your opinion and Terri's, too, Anonymous - I'm sincerely sorry if I made you feel otherwise! I was not questioning the validity of your feelings, but rather trying to let you and others know that Superfrock would never intentionally try to shock you by using racist images. I feel it is an unfortunate coincidence that the graphics Superfrock's used for this email caused you to have that kind of reaction to it. I still feel quite certain it was not Superfrock's intention to insult anyone. You're right that Superfrock likes to shock on occasion, but I've never seen them abuse someone's race to do so. That's just not who they are. If it were, I would not be a Sybarite collector. Again, I would never expect you to apologize for feeling the way you do and I'm not, as you put it, "adverse to hearing someone's honest perceptions". However, I still feel it was the right thing to post what I did so that others, unfamiliar with Superfrock, understand they didn't intentionally try to shock in such a disgusting way. That's all I meant by it.
BTW, Terri - any chance they'll have a table for us flies? I'd love to be a fly on that event's wall, too!
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Wow... I wonder how many dolls are included, and what they look like?
ReplyDelete@Melissa: Three dolls and no one will know what they look like until the events.
ReplyDeleteT
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I admire some of the Syb dolls and fashions; I think they should invest in a graphic designer. I find the promo material is all very messy, and overtly "photoshop novice". It goes beyond tounge and cheek amateur. Such gorgeous (and pricey) dolls deserve to be shown in high res! No more streched out pixelated pictures please.
ReplyDeleteSorry, a bit off topic; but I had to get that off my chest.
I was quite shocked when I saw the flyer, my first re-action was black face and I felt ill. Underneath it says "2 African Boys". I am not sure that was the intention, but that was my first re-action. When I looked closer at the picture, it is the Superfrock happyface logo..but it still took me by surprise, but not in a good way..I know the boys love to shock but...
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: I thought the same thing when I first saw the pictures of the two figures. Odd.
ReplyDeleteT
The Queer, Quaint, and Perculiar champagne brunch sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeleteIf you were a fly on the wall, they'd use an expensive fly-swatter, I'm sure.
@Steve: They hold a separate event for flies. I'm trying so hard to think of something funny but I have failed.
ReplyDeleteT
Both creators of the Sybarites are natives of South Africa, which is where the "2 African Boys Productions" comes from. Long-time Sybarite collectors are well aware that this is how they've always referred to themselves. It's meant as a tribute to their country of birth. The smiley faces are also a well-known trademark they've used since they begun. The attire on the two men is mid to late 19th century and is only alluding to the theme, The Scarlet Ribbon Affaire - kind of like a Sherlock Holmes mystery set in London, if you will. I can understand people who are unfamiliar with Sybarite collecting perhaps seeing more into it due to the sad history of racism in our country, but in all fairness, this was something emailed to Sybarite collectors on Superfrock's email list and posted only on their site. Sybarite collectors understood all the references and it was never Superfrock's intention to shock in the manner suggested.
ReplyDeleteSusan, that is good to know, but it was still my immediate reaction to the picture..I am a Sybarite collector so it does not have anything to do with being unfamiliar with the dolls as you suggested and I too received this email, before I saw it posted on Terri's blog (and other blogs),...it was a gut re-action as I said above. The picture and the graphics definately had a mintrel, vaudeville show tone...even though my re-action stems from as you said the sad (ongoing) history of racism in my country...Britain is not unfamiliar with the practise of blackface...in fact it lasted longer in Britain with "The Black and White Minstrel Show" being cancelled by BBC in as late as 1978 but still touring as a show until 1987. I will not apologize for my feelings. I am not one to publically post my opinions usually but it was a strong enough reflex for me to speak out and I am not the only one that had that re-action...even though something may be unintentional or that it is seen in a subjective way, it does not mean that it is not a valid responce. I would think if someone does truly care about racism they would not be adverse to hearing someone's honest perceptions on the subject..
ReplyDeleteI felt I was being very respectful of your opinion and Terri's, too, Anonymous - I'm sincerely sorry if I made you feel otherwise! I was not questioning the validity of your feelings, but rather trying to let you and others know that Superfrock would never intentionally try to shock you by using racist images. I feel it is an unfortunate coincidence that the graphics Superfrock's used for this email caused you to have that kind of reaction to it. I still feel quite certain it was not Superfrock's intention to insult anyone. You're right that Superfrock likes to shock on occasion, but I've never seen them abuse someone's race to do so. That's just not who they are. If it were, I would not be a Sybarite collector. Again, I would never expect you to apologize for feeling the way you do and I'm not, as you put it, "adverse to hearing someone's honest perceptions". However, I still feel it was the right thing to post what I did so that others, unfamiliar with Superfrock, understand they didn't intentionally try to shock in such a disgusting way. That's all I meant by it.
ReplyDeleteBTW, Terri - any chance they'll have a table for us flies? I'd love to be a fly on that event's wall, too!
@Susan: No table but there will be at least one wall for sure.
ReplyDeleteT