Art by Davis & Davis: A Lonely Girl's Quest to Buy a Friend

The little girl in the pumpkin-colored dress and the white go-go boots is speculating on the perfect robot. She certainly has a variety of choices—does she want one that is sweet-faced, scary, imperious or humanized? Perhaps she’s being too picky.

With their new show, Bebe’s Bots, the Eagle Rock artists and husband-and-wife team known as “Davis & Davis” introduce the character of a precocious youngster who has recently moved to California from the suburbs of Paris. To assuage her loneliness, she is on a quest to buy a friend.

“Bebe represents every little girl or boy,” says Denise Davis. “She worries about being accepted and having friends. She’s a little snobby—everything has to be just right—and she has excuses for all of them. They’d probably all be fine and do the job—if she’d just let them.”

‘Childish Things’

Bebe’s Bots is the third solo show this year for Davis & Davis, who work in a variety of mediums that include photography, video, illustration, drawings, sculptures and installations dealing with such fringe sciences as Ufology, parapsychology and sexology.

One of their doll photos, “Harold Angel,” was recently featured alongside a riveting piece of short fiction in the New Yorker. In fact, their affinity for toys placed in complex setups is well observed in their acclaimed 2004 book, “Childish Things,” which one critic aptly described as “the perfect present for someone whose conformist brain needs expanding.”

Bebe and her bots are hand-drawn with pen on paper by Denise, then scanned into the computer and colored by the couple. Scott Davis, who adds to the robot’s features, also creates Bebe’s minimal dialogue with captions in a French/Anglo hybrid patois—an indication of Bebe’s Francophile origins.

All of the robots depicted in the show’s series of 18 drawings are based on real toys that Davis & Davis acquired through swap meets and toy stores. Bebe—who neither changes outfits nor moves in the series—is also a doll.

Leanna Lin’s Wonderland—Perfect Setting For Bebe

The drawings and the corresponding narrative have been in the works for a number of years but none were completed. In fact, the drawings were envisioned as the middle section of the artists’ first children's book, Bebe Buys a Bot, an illustrated journey of self-discovery through high technology. When Davis & Davis were envisioning prospective art for a show to be housed in the eye-popping and whimsical environs of , Bebe seemed a natural fit.

“A lot of the people who come in love robots,” says store/gallery owner Leanna Lin Fong. “We just got the ‘Kauzbots’ in—10 different handcrafted robots, each created to inspire kids and adults to change the world.” The mission begins right at the retail counter: 10 percent of the price of robot plush toys and accompanying apparel is donated to the “kauz” (aka cause) close to the robot's heart.

And in keeping with the theme of Bebe’s Bots—a child character’s quest to buy a friend—Wonderland is planning a robot display in the store’s front window.

The Need For Love

Denise compares what’s missing in Bebe’s existence with the famous “Hierarchy of Needs” theory of American psychologist Abraham Maslow. In a 1943 study, Maslow proposed a pecking order of five human needs in which “love and a sense of belonging” is the third-most important factor after food and physical safety. Without love, Maslow held, it’s impossible to acquire self-esteem (the fourth need) and self-actualization (the final need).

From Paris to Eagle Rock

It is fitting that Bebe’s move to California has brought her into a familiar community. “She lives in Eagle Rock,” says Denise. “She shops on Eagle Rock and Colorado boulevards, and plays in the local park.” Clearly, it won't be long before she finds a friend.

Bebe’s Bots are editioned, archival digital pigment prints. Additionally, Davis & Davis will be signing and selling their book, “Childish Things,” and offering cards from that collection. Find out more about Davis & Davis at: davisanddavis.org.

Bebe’s Bots runs from Oct. 8-Nov. 6 at Leanna Lin's Wonderland, 5024 Eagle Rock Blvd. Opening reception: Saturday, Oct. 8 (6-10 p.m.) Gallery hours: Tues.-Fri., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat., 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun., 12 noon-5 p.m.