Original Photograph: “Woman” 1971 by Akira Sato ©Eleanor Macnair
10/6/15: Eleanor Macnair doesn’t sleep well. However, her loss of sleep is definitely our gain. She got the idea to amuse herself in the wee hours by reproducing other photographers’ work in Play-Doh. She took pictures of each of her Play-Doh sculptures and put them up on Tumblr and Instagram, thinking they would only ever entertain herself, her friends, and her few followers. But the idea caught the attention of art lovers and galleries alike. Now, she’s published one book of photos with another in the works, and her work is blowing up social media. I recommend you check out her very entertaining Instagram and Tumblr accounts. Her Instagram account also includes photos of some of her works in progress, which I found particularly intriguing.
Her process sounds deceptively simple:
“The images are produced late at night using Play-Doh, a chopping board, a highball glass as a rolling pin and a blunt Ikea knife. Each photograph takes 1-2 hours to reproduce, paring the image down to just form and colour, before being shot the next morning then disassembled back into the Play-Doh pots. The works themselves no longer exist and the Play-Doh is reused for future renderings, so these photographs are all that remain.” –Photography Now
I was initially kind of bummed that the sculptures are destroyed after they’ve been photographed, but I guess it makes sense. Play-Doh isn’t meant to last forever. And maybe the ephemeral quality of the work adds to its mystery. Enjoy!
Original Photograph: “Doe Eye” from Vogue, 1950 by Erwin Blumenfeld ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Hurt” 1972 by Joseph Szabo ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Secretary at West German Radio in Cologne 1931 by August Sander ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Untitled by Jean-Francois Lepage ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Boxers” 1929 by August Sander ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Helen Tamiris by Soichi Sunami ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Untitled Polaroid by Sibylle Bergeman ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Tatiana Ryabushinskaya as Golden Cockerel” Ballet Russes, 1938 by Horst P. Horst ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “New York” 1970s by Helen Levitt ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Girl holding kitten” London 1960 by Bruce Davidson ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Audrey With Toes and Wrist Bent” 2011 by Nadav Kander ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Untitled from the series ’Another November’ by Laura Stevens ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Woman and Man Dancing” New York, 1940s by Weegee ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Unidentified woman by Rufus W.Holsinger ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Vivienne in the green dress” NYC, 1980 by Nan Goldin ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “The Right Eye of My Daughter Sigrid” 1928 by August Sander ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Untitled from the series ‘On a Good Day’ 1975 by Al Vandenberg ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: “Melissa” Athens, Georgia, 1995 by Mark Steinmetz ©Eleanor Macnair
Original Photograph: Untitled, Biloxi, Mississippi, 1972 by William Eggleston ©Eleanor Macnair
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My OBT 
September 21, 2021 at 7:38 am
Brilliant stuff. When I can’t sleep, I just scroll the internet…
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September 23, 2021 at 9:31 am
Nice to know a fellow sufferer…
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September 21, 2021 at 8:09 am
Different. Interesting. Honestly, I am not sure if I like them or not. I wonder how she found the original picture of ““Doe Eye” from Vogue, 1950 by Erwin Blumenfeld ” Yes, Dancing with the Stars was on last night!! Hal
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September 24, 2021 at 5:25 pm
I love Doe Eye!
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September 24, 2021 at 8:21 pm
Without doing any research, I thought Doe Eye was Marilyn Monroe. is happens a lot, that a lot of us see different things when looking at the same thing. Hal
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October 1, 2021 at 2:07 pm
True!
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September 21, 2021 at 9:18 am
You just never know. !!
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