Press Roundup - Whilst the World Sleeps
‘I am interested in how we judge art. Who is to say what is good or bad? Who can make it and how? Can we hold it in esteem if it’s not cloaked in art speak, the production costs are minimal and the artist didn’t attend art school? Does this make it less valid? Or more so? Is it even art?’ - Eleanor MacNair
Times - photography brought to life in Play-Doh
Guardian - Say squeeze! Famous photographs remade in Play-Doh – in pictures
Mee-Lai Stone
L'Œil de la Photographie - Whilst the World Sleeps
PetaPixel - Artist Spotlights Photographers by Recreating Their Work in Play-Doh
Matt Growcoot
Macnair has recreated photos taken by Cindy Sherman, Diane Arbus, Elliott Erwitt, Martin Parr, and many more. But she says the project has never really been about famous photographs. Instead, Macnair wants to “lead the viewer to see images they may not encounter otherwise.”
“A bit of me hopes that it gets people thinking about how we consume imagery in the digital age,” she says.
Juxtapoz - Classic Photographs Rendered in Play-Doh
Kaiak - British artist Eleanor Macnair interprets the artistic conception of photography with clay
"Even though I've worked in galleries and museums, sometimes I still feel like I can't have an opinion because I didn't go to art school. If art is not packaged in jargon, can we still regard it as precious even if it costs very little to make? Can it still be considered art?”
BBC Newsround - Artist mum recreates famous photographs in play dough
If you are thinking of having a go yourself, Eleanor says you need two things, cold hands and patience for the fiddly bits. She says “if you enjoy it then go and do it".
BBC - Stroud Play-Doh artist wanted to make art more accessible
On how much Play-Doh she owns, Ms Macnair said: "I've got probably about 200 pots but I haven't bought any for about three years.
You can just roll them back up, make sure they've got enough water on them, put them back in the pot and they do last for a long time."
Written by Josie Atkinson
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