Laurie Simmons (American, b. 1949) "Kaleidoscope Dollhouse", 2001 acrylic and plastic with architect Peter Wheelwright (American, 20th Century) in collaboration with Bozart Toys, brightly colored dollhouse with movable panels, interior with 11 sections of Velcro for the attachment of any of the 17 included works of art, artists include David Halliday, Gary Nesbitt, Robert Kelly, Andrew Young and others. floor plan 22" x 28" x 24" Literature: Pilar Viladas, "Welcome to the Dollhouse" New York Times Magazine, October, 8, 2000; Michael Lobel, "Scale Models" ARTFORUM, October, 2010, pp. 256-260. Notes: When artist Laurie Simmons, known for her wryly clever and often dark artistic explorations of domestic life in miniature, was first approached by Larry Mengel, a former art dealer and the owner of the innovative toy company Bozart, to create a modern take on the dollhouse, she was initially uninterested. It was only after a fortuitous visit to the Museum of the City of New York where she was on assignment to photograph the legendary Stettheimer Dollhouse with its miniatures by artists such as Alexander Archipenko, George Bellows and Marcel Duchamp, that she understood the potential of the project. She joined forces with architect Peter Wheelwright, a family friend and chair of the architecture department at Parsons School of Design. The pair envisioned a structure drastically different from anything on the market. Unlike most dollhouses which were accessible from only one side (and occasionally from the top), they wanted to create a house which could be approached from every direction. The result was a neon delight of a dollhouse, with brightly hued acrylic moving wall panels which change colors as they intersect, modern modular furniture and art by a variety of contemporary artists. Simultaneously playful and innovative, it was an instant hit with children and critics alike and was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood.