Courtney Love and her Doll Parts
When writing my seminar paper on Hans Ballmer, I found an article comparing his doll's to the doll motif's often used by 'Riot Grrl' bands. There were obviously mentions of the band fronted by the infamous Courtney Love; 'Hole,' and I thought back to a time when I was a right little goth, a time when I really loved them.
Courtney Love is a wildly controversial figure and, whilst I don't agree with anything and everything she has ever declared or done, I can't help but feel a small bit bad for her. Her husband had died tragically and everybody blamed her for his death, whilst she was struggling with a drug addiction in the midst of being a single mother. She said:
"He'll be a genius and you'll be a groupie. He'll be a hero and you'll be an ugly, fat crack whore who deserves to die. It took a special kind of guts to be a fuck up as a woman."
Another important element to Courtney which inspires my art is her frequent use of the 'doll,' motif, particularly in Hole's 1991 song, 'Doll Parts.' The single cover includes small, dolly clothes, and Courtney stated the song was about her insecurity of Kurt Cobain's romantic interest in her.
"I am doll eyes, doll mouth, doll legs - I am doll arms, big veins, dog beg." "I want to be the girl with the most cake." "I fake it so real I am beyond fake." "I am doll parts, bad skin, doll heart."
At one point, Courtney really did become a doll. After seeing Ai Yazawa's (the author of 'Nana,') interpretation of all things grunge and punk rock, Courtney Love had decided she wanted to star in a manga herself. Introducing 2004's 'Princess Ai,' co-written by Courtney through 2004-2005, and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. It is heavily implied that the manga depicts Courtney's own life, with 'Princess Ai,' meaning 'Princess Love.'
The official 'Princess Ai,' doll-line was produced by a company called Bleeding Edge Goths, and are particularly difficult to find and sought-after today. They were modelled off Courtney and of course, the manga-fied version of her, Princess Ai.
(Doll images from 'CruelMika' on Reddit)
