Racquet Issue No. 16, April 2021

In Fall 2020, I was commissioned to create a series of four images for Issue No. 16 of Racquet, a quarterly publication “celebrating the art, ideas, style, and culture that surround tennis.” I have admired and read Racquet since it launched a few years ago, and appreciate its writing, design, and photography. I follow the publication on social media and actively share their content with everyone, even if they don’t consider themselves tennis fans.

I was thrilled to be able to partner with Racquet on this project of tennis-related images using dolls, which accompany an article written by journalist and Racquet Senior Editor Ben Rothenberg. I admire Ben’s reporting on tennis in the New York Times, as well as on the No Challenges Remaining Podcast, and he wrote on the intersection of tennis and Barbie for this latest issue. After reading Ben’s article, I have an even deeper appreciation for how the two are intertwined, sometimes uncomfortably, and I love that his research entailed many doll purchases, which were passed on to me as I worked on the images.

As an active tennis player and consumer of the sport, as well as a hobbyist who specializes in creating and photographing miniatures, this project was a wonderful, exciting collision of those worlds. I appreciated the publication’s flexibility and openness to my ideas as my thinking evolved, and I am incredibly proud of and pleased with the results.

Below is an overview of what went into each image over the three months I worked on the project.

The Inspiration and the Results

The Inspiration: Tyler, the Creator

The musician, songwriter, designer, and overall creator of many other things Tyler, the Creator (Tyler Gregory Okonma) was the inspiration for the story’s cover image. The inspiration photo originally appeared in the Fall 2018 edition of GQStyle and was shot by Matthieu Venot, who is best known for his architectural photography. You can see Venot’s powerful aesthetic in the image, where he situates Tyler, the Creator’s upper body in what is known as the “T,” where the service line intersects with the center forecourt line. Tyler, the Creator is seen wearing pants by Lacoste on a clay tennis court in France, leaning on a broom and addressing the camera directly.

Racquet provided me with the doll, but I had to source the clothing and accessories and also decide how I was going to approach the actual setting for the photograph — should I create a set of a 1:6 scale clay tennis court for authenticity? How do I mimic the strong style of the image and retain the graphic impact of the court lines? How do I convey Tyler, the Creator’s relaxed intensity with a doll?

The Result: Hardcourt, not Clay

I made the decision to utilize an actual tennis court for this image. I liked the playfulness of the scale and wanted to mimic the strong graphic style of Venot’s original photograph. I shot at different times of day to have variation of light and shadow, and I also shot indoors on a red clay court (not too many outdoor red clay courts here in the Northeast U.S.). The final image chosen by Racquet was one taken on a hardcourt (and re-colored a clay red in PhotoShop) with a strong afternoon shadow and direct sun, which helped the custom made green satin pants stand out. The pants and hat were made by Jenny at the CraftsDepot2017 shop on Etsy, and I hand made the broom using a simple wood dowel and a rectangular block to which I glued some gold fringe to simulate bristles.

The Inspiration: Billie Jean King

When one thinks of the sport of tennis, it is difficult not to think of Billie Jean King — not only for her incredible career achievements, but for her voice and advocacy in fighting for equality in the sport. This work has continued to the present day and she remains a tireless force. Racquet provided me with the Billie Jean King doll manufactured by Mattel, which is a muscular and super fit Billie Jean dressed in a reproduction of an outfit by the iconic fashion designer Ted Tinling. She wore one just like this for her famous, widely televised September 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match versus Bobby Riggs, which she won in three straight sets and received a $100,000 check.

My inspiration was a photo of Billie taken in August 1973 by the news media while she was on the Virginia Slims tour, holding sign “Billie Jean for President,” created by a young fan. I had to decide how to best convey Billie’s open and confident energy without getting too sidelined by replicating the image exactly; rather, the important thing was to convey a spirited and fun buoyancy.

The Result: Real Bleachers

Rather than create a set for the doll, I decided to use actual bleachers at a sports field nearby my house and situated the doll with a sign hand made by me (I traced the actual sign from the original photo and scaled it to 1:6). As with the Tyler, the Creator image, I liked the idea of playing with scale and perspective and inviting the viewer into the space to make their own determination as to what they are seeing. I also like the humor of this little doll perched on these massive bleachers, but somehow she holds her own — just like Billie.

The Inspiration: Farrah Fawcett and Vincent Van Patten

I have to admit that as a child in the 1970s, I associated the actress Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009) with TV and movies, not tennis. But as it turns out, she had quite an amateur career on the court and played some matches with a young Vincent Van Patten, an actor ten years her junior whom she briefly dated in 1979. Her role on the TV show “Charlie’s Angels” certainly helped to solidify her fame as a gorgeous, feminine blonde who may have reminded people of a certain Barbie doll but in her later years she was able to shed that image a bit and showed people her natural grit, acting talent, and smarts.

Racquet provided me with this image of Farrah and Vince on the court and I had to figure out how best to create an image that evoked Farrah’s focus at net with hunky Vince at the baseline in the background. And how to re-create that iconic hair…??

The Result: Backyard Tennis

This was one of the more challenging photos to execute. First was the matter of the actual dolls. While Racquet kindly provided a number of tennis Barbies they had accumulated for this purpose, none really worked, primarily because their legs did not bend, and I did not want to compromise Farrah’s intensity in her “ready” stance at the net. Then, the HAIR. How could I bring that wavy, perfect tousled mane into the picture? There is actually a Farrah Fawcett doll, but not made by Mattel, and Racquet wanted to use only authentic Barbies, so I could not exercise that option. In the end, I sourced a Barbie whose legs bent but the hair was still not right. My research deepened even further and I discovered that yes, there is such a thing as wigs for dolls, and found a Farrah-like wig. Yup.

As for Vince, Mattel made a John Smith doll inspired by the English adventurer attached most prominently (and incorrectly) to Pochahontas (you can go down a rabbit hole here, via a Smithsonian Magazine’s article), and I though he looked pretty convincingly like Vince. After dressing him in tennis gear including a purple headband, he looked very much the part. I used authentic vintage Barbie rackets from the 1962 set, Tennis Anyone? and applied some washi tape to create the lines seen on Farrah and Vince’s rackets. For the net, I used a mesh black fabric and some white tape and set it on green poster board with tennis court lines made of more white tape. After a number of tries on a patio table in my backyard (I needed that natural light to evoke sunny LA), I captured the pair in their match.

Inspiration: Vintage Lawn Tennis

The final inspiration image in my series for Racquet was an image of two women at the net, presumably from the 1920s, who stand lighting cigarettes at the net (not clear if it’s pre- or post-match?). The image immediately recalls Suzanne Lenglen (1888-1938), the pioneering French player who many believe helped to revolutionize the sport for women with her graceful and athletic style of play at a time when men dominated the courts. She was also described as a brash force known for her drinking and joie de vivre, and was an uncompromising competitor.

My challenge with this image was to somehow create a decidedly vintage 1920s “flapper” vibe, complete with what was then a routine appearance of cigarettes on a tennis court (not so much today). Not only did I have to come up with the right dolls, but also ones who stood unassisted.

The Result: Flat Feet and Body Suits

When confronted with the challenge of freestanding Barbie dolls, my research expanded and I discovered that Mattel did indeed produce dolls with flat feet who could stand unassisted for the most part, unlike the original dolls whose feet elegantly pointed. What a relief! Once I had two dolls in hand, I set about cutting and styling their hair to give more of a vintage vibe, rather than the more recent ‘dos, and commissioned a body suit from Jenny of CraftsDeport2007 on Etsy for one doll (on the left), and put the other in an actual Barbie “play suit.”

I re-used the rackets from Farrah and Vince’s scene and added a ball. Hot glue became very necessary since I had to express motion and stillness all at once; even the cigarettes, procured on eBay, had to be glued on. I utilized the net from Farrah and Vince and created a garden background in my backyard (again). The tennis “lawn” is textured craft paper and thin white tape, and hopefully imparts the feeling of an outdoor court.