United States of Mannequins: a view into shop windows through the 1980s

Apr 29, 2021 | Photography, Plastic Girls, Popular Culture, Roberto Bigano

August 1984 - Beverly Hills, California - From "Plastic Girls" series. A forty-year project by the Italian photographer Roberto Bigano documenting mannequins.

August 1984. Shop window. Beverly Hills, California. BUY

“Plastic Girls” episode 2. United States 1982-1988

This is the second part of “Plastic Girls,” a forty-year project by the Italian photographer Roberto Bigano documenting mannequins. All the pictures were taken in the United States from 1982 to 1988, mainly with a 4×5 view camera capable of delivering an incredible amount of details comparable to today’s high-end digital cameras. Read the first episode.

These photographs are part of “A Big Country,” another Roberto Bigano’s project on the “True & False” in the United States, that we will publish soon.

The images are available for purchase with a Royalty-Free license.

BROWSE THE MANNEQUIN ARCHIVE

August 1982 - Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California. - From "Plastic Girls" series

August 1982.
Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, California.
BUY Digital File

August 1983 - New York City. - From "Plastic Girls" series. Photo Roberto Bigano.

August 1983. Shoe shop window. New York City. BUY THE DIGITAL FILE

August 1982 - Beverly Hills, California. - From "Plastic Girls" series.Photo Roberto Bigano

August 1983. Shop Window. New York City, BUY THE DIGITAL FILE

Curiosities and tech specifications.

I always pay a lot of attention to the equipment and shooting techniques. To me, reportage meant faithfully telling what I saw, providing as much detail as possible.
I worked in film with a 4×5″ (10x12cm) view camera with top lenses. The film was the Kodak Etrachrome Professional, which I, whenever possible, developed at the A&I Lab in downtown Los Angeles.

Shooting through fresnel ground glass required meticulous preparation and framing. To have a proper depth of field, you had to stop down and use long exposures; for the close-up below I exposed the film for 45 minutes at F.64. Kodak EPT film, Etrachrome Professional Tungsten. Lens: Rodenstock Sironar 150mm.

Leggi in italiano

Pane calendariale.

Il pane calendario è di solito panificato all’inizio della quaresima, in linea di massima in forma di bambola a sette gambe che vengono “mangiate” una alla settimana, fino a Pasqua. Il secondo esempio qui sotto con bamboline che ricordano un pò il Vodoo, rappresentano i giorni rimanenti alla prossima panificazione.