Who is... Lily Doll?
Ah,
"the Doll." Two words so impersonal that they, along with "it," seem like
insults to Lily-Doll, who has a definite warm, shy, and innocent
personality that dominates her darker, more impulsive aspects. Lily-Doll is Lily
Godwin's replicant, and that's all there is to that. (Lily-Doll isn't her name;
that's how Elisabeth referred to her and I kept using it to differentiate
between the character, the Muse, and the Doll.) Though keeping a lower profile
in recent years, she's become well-known internationally through interviews,
articles, books, and several forums, much to her embarrassment, I might
add. I wouldn't be surprised if more people will be coming here
for her photos than for info on the book, even though they know of her
associated novel (because I rarely fail to mention it LOL). But here's part
of Lily-Doll's story:
Early in 2004 Realdoll constructed an exact duplicate of Lily Godwin cast in silicone, modified with multiple design choices that I'd carefully picked through their countless options. On April 1st she finally arrived, and she turned out absolutely beautiful. (An interesting sidenote: In the novel, Lily is equated with The Fool tarot card, and she arrived right on April Fool's Day!)
It's a breathtaking moment opening the crate and seeing the product of your fantasy and imagination and Realdoll's workmanship and artistry there before you. As is customary among doll owners (of all types) I took pictures of the uncrating and I've shared them in the Photo Album . Needless to say, I was stunned by her beauty. She really captures Lily's quieter, more contemplative sides. The downside is that in the novel her face is quite animated and she smiles a lot; a relatively expressionless doll doesn't do her justice in that regard at all. But they're both pretty reflective, so there's that. I am too.
Initially I intended her for the cover model for UNBOUND and for the novel's promotional photoshoots. Anything else would be gravy, I thought. Unfortunately, at around 100 pounds these life-sized dolls are rather unwieldy and fairly fragile, and range-of-movement too restrictive for the posing purposes I had in mind for UNBOUND's cover. There are several very high quality doll photographers around who may be able to help with advice though, so I still hope to use her. Even if I can't, it's great just having her around :-)
The Not-So-Artificial Companion
So, what has Lily-Doll done for me? Aside from making people aware of her book, existing as Lily Godwin's physical presence, being a highly-therapeutic Love-Doll, and serving as a repository for my Muse, she was sort of a "ticket" into the lifesized doll world. Yes, I know it's scary to some of you but sorry, can't relate to that fear at all. It'll be over quickly (but not too).
Her photos were discovered by photographer Elena Dorfman , who was compiling a book on the subject, and also contributing photos to another book by an editor of the French magazine Marie-Claire, Elisabeth Alexandre, who'd written the text for Elena's book. Together they flew from Paris out to the Pacific Northwest to interview me and shoot Lily-Doll over the course of three days (they were also conducting others for their books on this trip, not just us). Aside from this enjoyable experience and adventure (i.e.: several exterior shoots with Lily-Doll), the exposure also led to eight or nine interviews with online and newstand mags all over the world (and many others that I turned down, including television), using the opportunity to not only tell about the novel but also to help bring comfort to those sufferers of loneliness and alone-ness by bringing this beneficent remedy yet taboo subject out into the open.
I'd discovered for myself that these dolls are so lifelike and have such a presence that they easily give the illusion of companionship, which the beholder may utilize as any fantasy he or she wishes for, to whatever depth as they're capable. These modern dolls proved their worth to me firsthand in many ways, and have been doing so ever since Man crouched in his caves with his tiny ones. Of course, no one imagines that a doll is a replacement (as such) for a talking, moving, and breathing woman, but that really should be obvious. However, I'll save the in-depth discussions for another time; it's a heavy subject at times due to people's narrow-mindedness and lack of imagination.
Let's just say that from the corner of the eye while passing through the house, it's very easy to imagine Lily Godwin standing or sitting around, reflecting. On one hand she's just a giant sized action figure; on the other, the extreme I prefer, she is imbued with limitless spirit, personality, and history through fantasy, imagination, and the story devices, a true character. She is an absolute delight; a plaything of the highest order and quality. She may not be alive, but she sure is Real.
On the whole, people who mock this hobby are too stupid to realize this possibility, focusing instead only on their most obvious use and ignoring the more clever, fantastic, and magical ones. Some people are as afraid of using their imaginations as much as they are afraid of dolls. Weird. Guess we're even LOL
By the way, don't believe everything you read from alarmists who bemoan Artificial Companions. In short, they do not replace real persons, they are not demeaning to women, and just know that pretty much any media article, documentary, or movie will likely be slanted toward extremism, sensationalism, and misanthropy. That's what sells, and if you think that's a cynical view, it's not. This is a large reason as to why doll-owners are marginalized and shun publicity. Who wants to be tarred with THAT brush? I see it all the time (and why I've limited my interviews and now turn down most of them).
Ever since the film "Lars and the Real Girl" (2007) came out and shed some sympathetic light on one particular doll-owner (played with wonderful empathy by Ryan Gosling), the fear-struck rubes who had castigated doll-owners were firmly put in their place, and the shrillest voices were silenced. About damn time. Truth trumps fear (or it should):
"Since the beginning of human history dolls have served as symbolic selves, as icons for religious fervor, effigies that represent different sides of the psyche, as surrogates in therapy sessions, as child's play and adult fantasy. They are the vehicles of our cultural imagination, proxies we animate with our ideas and ideals."
( from "Still Lovers", by Elena Dorfman with text by Elisabeth Alexandre, 2005)
Elisabeth's book, in which she gave Lily and I a nine-page chapter with Elena's photos, is entitled "Des poupees et des hommes, Enqute sur l'amour artificiel." But it's in French, so I haven't read it. By the way, these books are for mature, grown up, adult, non-judgmental persons. Squeamish or hung-up need not apply.
So yet another aspect of Lily Godwin manifested within the silicone confines of this Realdoll. Whenever I look at her, I always see Lily, never just a doll. She's as exact as possible; body type, facial shape, and features. Her eyes I had custom-made by Guy-Louis XIV Mannequins who duplicated their cobalt blue color perfectly with the highest of quality. They're so realistic that at times they (and she) seem alive; oftentimes out of the corner of my own eye it's seemed as if they moved and she's just looked right back as if nothing happened. Guy also created her natural-hair brows, and more than a few times when looking at her it seemed that her eyebrow raised *just a bit*! Combined with her expectant/passive expression she does seem quite inscrutable at times. Appropo for a Muse, I guess...
When I was doing my first revisions, I had her sitting near my writing table, and it was indescribably comforting. They really have to be seen to be believed; people who I've shown her to usually lose their composure somewhat and seem a little awestruck, intimidated, intrigued. And no, I'm not embarassed, ashamed, or regretful in the least. "Careful" is more like it. This is a complex subject that can be dealt with another time in the Dolls section; it's usually a hot topic, though it's become tiresome for me.
Through several forums (names witheld to keep rubes to a minimum) I've been able to promote this novel in -well, novel, ways. Thanks to this lovely Doll, Lily Godwin's sweet character, and the Muse who helped form it, I have brought my character of Lily to life as best as she can have it, and as best as I can have it. Practically in three dimensions, too; first from dimension-less (?) imagination, then onto 2D paper, lastly into a 3D silicone body and "into the Sensual World." And when you read her story, she'll be livng in yours as well! Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get along just fine :-)
I've put several photos of Lily-Doll up in the Photo Album ; I do enjoy sharing pictures of her. (And since she stays in character here, DON'T expect to see anything Lily wouldn't want you to see!) I ought to point out that doll-photography is very tricky, time-consuming, and difficult to get right: eyes, head position, hands, and countless other details can turn a good photo unusable. Eye contact is the critical element. Posing and balancing a hundred pound silicone doll is also problematic. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that my photography isn't that skilled; I do it for fun mainly and get lucky sometimes. Lately I've seen some awesome shoots and will try and share them later on. But if done right, just the angle of the eyes can turn a photo you might consider "creepy" into something you go "wooooowww" to! I guess that proves that it's all a matter of perception ;-)