To you, is a bjd an art piece or are they a doll?

They are fully customizable kinetic sculptures that can be used as canvases for painting, armatures for sculpting, raw material for carving, models for fibre/textile/jewellery crafts, not to mention as subjects for photography - I've seen so many creations in the BJD community that definitely rank as art in my opinion! To my mind, the way BJDs are expressly designed for creation and customization is a bit unique. Other types of dolls are more intended for play or display, and while they can be repurposed creatively, it's not built into their design and marketing the same way.

 

Dolls are more like a material for art, I think. Obviously the sculpt itself is art, etc...But so are even lowly Barbies. With BJDs (and fashion doll repaints, tbh) some people really go the extra mile and turn their dolls into something that can only be described as "a work of art." You see them sitting in their display cases and it's obvious they're meant to be looked at like something in a gallery. They're set up to depict something specific, usually. They might have multiple outfits, but there's one or two "standards" and the doll doesn't quite look right in other things. The aesthetic reminds you of a painting come to life.

Meanwhile, my doll is definitely more of a toy. He doesn't have one exquisitely detailed outfit meant to convey a specific mood or scene - he has a small wardrobe that I dress him from depending on a variety of conditions. And I don't set him up somewhere carefully posed and displayed. I tend to pose him nearby whatever I'm doing, more like a child would with their doll. I talk to him (I'm a housewife, and I also talk to my cats. That's what happens when a chatterbox is left alone all day, lol) and I enjoy imagining what he would answer back if he could talk.

 

Prior to buying my doll, I thought I would just display him and only occasionally re-pose him. I thought because he was so expensive he’d be more of a display/art piece. When I got him I felt totally different. Once I saw that he was not as delicate as I thought and I started moving him around and posing him I felt like he was more of a doll and less of an art piece. I still wouldn’t be too rough with him but I want to enjoy him.

 

It's objectively a doll but it can be a doll and an art piece. I think of my dolls as more an art piece and way to creatively express myself through sewing and customization, I don't "play" with them as some do because that just doesn't interest me.

 

I'd like to think of my dolls as displays of art (of some sort). I love small details and well made creations. It's fun to put together a doll and pose it for viewing purposes. However a few of my dolls represent characters in stories that I enjoy, so I plan to change them over time depending on the plot line of the story. And maybe even re-create them all over again at some point.

When do you call it art? When do you call it playing? When do you call it a craft? I think all the boundaries overlap each other at some point. I don't think 'art' needs to have a monetary value in order to call it art. My opinion is it should create an emotional response and encourage the viewer to look closer and ask questions. I feel that is what bjd's are, which is why I've been drawn to them. And not all people will react the same to an art piece. Some will be enthusiastic to accept and some won't care at all. That goes with sculpture, paintings, photography; it can go with dolls.

 

I think they're both. I guess I personally treat my doll more similarly to how I would treat a Barbie than how I would treat a sculpture, in that I like to play with him, dress him up, project a personality onto him, etc., but I believe any sort of creative expression is art, and considering how much creative expression goes into the dolls (the sculpt, face-up, eyes, wig, clothes, and the sort of lore building many owners apply to their dolls), they're definitely art too.

 

All dolls are art. Even the mass-produced dolls at Walmart or Target were originally designed by professional sculptors. The original sculptures are used to make molds to produce copies, just the same way bjds are. The materials, the process, and the details are different--bjds are certainly of a much higher quality-- but the simple truth is that every doll is a work of art. Fine art? No. But art nevertheless.

 

Both and I think their ability to be many things to many people adds to their appeal. Some of mine feel more like playful pieces, a couple I keep more ’as is’ just to look at but most of mine are more of a canvas for my imagination to shape.

 

I mean, this question eventually ends up being a question of aesthetics --not in the modern sense of '#aesthetic', but as in the philosophical questions about beauty and art. What is art and what isn't? Are our intuitions that art and mass-production are somehow at odds still tenable in modern society? Is it reasonable to feel there is a difference in artistic value between an artist doll and one produced by a larger company; between the two sculpts of differing quality; between a OOAK and a commercially available doll?
Where is the line between art, craft, and a handwork skill (a distinction, I might add, that for instance the ancient Greeks did not use --they called it all TECHNE, and yes, that is where the word 'technique' comes from)?
So there's a lot of underlying assumptions playing a role when considering whether BJD are art or 'just' a doll.

[...Philosophy student OUT ]

 

I think I'd have to say art. I suppose I would consider some of the more detailed barbies art as well (since someone had to create them originally) so now I'm not sure . I would never treat my bjd the same as I would a barbie though. The work that goes into the faceup is what really makes it art for me and that's where it differs from a mass produced face on a barbie.

 

I see them as mostly an art piece but also something that I can take care of; like a mother to her child

 

yes I think that's how I see them too

 

I think both but they are still much more special then just "dolls." I think it's very fascinating that there won't be that many people in the world who have the same doll as you, and even people who do have different face-ups, wigs, clothes, and stories for their dolls. You can create beautiful pictures or create stories with your dolls, you bond with them just like you would a real person.

Dolls can be whatever you want them to be and that's what makes them so wonderful.

 

I see them as both in the sense that it can be interpreted as an art piece when receiving a blank doll and it’s makes it an individual one of a kind doll once customized. When I consider it a doll is when I get to dress her up and photograph pictures or tell a story. So that’s why I see them as both.

 

To me, BJDs are "art pieces you can customize and play with." So they are the best of both worlds.

Being able to change their clothes, hair, even expressions depending on the faceup they have is a huge part of what makes this hobby so much fun! Ryuichi, my "first" doll has gone through a few faceups, wigs and eyes, and his expression has changed with each change he's been through. And he's just one of my Crew. Some I've had faceupped and they fell right into the look I was going for for them, and some needed tweaking here and there, and then I had to find/make clothes for them, eyes, shoes, etc in order for them to become the being that I had in my mind's eye. Others came as they were and already fufiled the image I had for them.

So, to be able to "create" these beings into resin artwork and then be able to play with them makes this hobby well worth the money, sewing, talking to people about them and more, worth it all.

Ryu

 

I definitely view certain dolls in different ways, like someone earlier mentioned Dollzone's Moment. That seems very much like pure art to me whereas a more human looking doll does seem like more of an outlet for others creativity. Though there is art in every doll. I also can see them as very personal characters and possessions.

Personally though, I really use them as super Barbies. I just want something cute or pretty to dress up and look at. I don't attach them to preexisting characters or give them personalities, at least not yet. But in summary I see them as art, but personally use them as toys.

 

I agree. That was very well said.

 

For me nude is just a doll, and when it gets clothes and face up, its also get its own character and personality it becomes may be not an art but something more than just a resin.

 

If you look at the definition of the word art on Google (i'm such a nerd, sorry! ), it is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power".

To me, BJDs definitely fall under the category of expression via a visual form, even at their blank stage, simply because of all the creative work that is put into them from the get-go. All of us, as owners, also go through the process of expressing our creativity with our dolls through various means (face-ups, styling, photography, etc) as well. The fact that they are inherently dolls is a given. It is already in their name that they are ball-jointed dolls.

 

I think of my dolls as dolls. They are created by others but I don't see them as "art" in the same way I would see a painting. Maybe if I did face-ups for them or made clothes for them, I might see them as "art" but since I just play with them, I see them as dolls.

My dolls are all little girls and I see them as my daughters.