Toy, Work of Art, Or Both?

I would say they fit the definition of both art and toys. I think even some toys intended for kids can be works of art. The tea sets I hand knit definitely are, as are the ooak stuffed dolls my good friend makes. The terms are not mutually exclusive.

 

Mine are definitely toys. Very beautiful, very expensive toys. I certainly have done nothing to elevate them to the level of art, though there are people here on the boards who have.

 

It really depends on the collector if its a toy or a work of art. Seeing as most are made in limitless quantities they themselves I would not think art. But someone who has entirely customized, styled, and designed how their doll is going to look I would consider more as art. For me my dolls are toys and don't find anything bad behind saying that. I love playing with my few dolls.

 

Only Toys if you count stuff like electronics and cars and anything that people have fun with--that is, Toys in the broadest sense of the term.

I think that even a Barbie doll, if it is hundreds of dollars and limited, isn't just a toy any more. It goes into that whole collectible category where some people display them or keep them in boxes and pretty much do anything but play with them like toys.

BJDs can be played with, but not like a typical toy.

So I think they are more art and collectible and hobby than a typical toy, although some people can certainly call them toys if they please!

 

If I play with it, it's a toy. Just because it's expensive that does not exclude it from being a toy, nor does the fact that it's an artistic work exclude it from being a toy. I guess my answer to this question is "both art and toy" but primarily toy.

 

Hmm, I'm a bit on the fence.

At their basest definition…they are toys. They are dolls. That does not mean, however, that I am going to carry one by the leg and feed it mud pies.

Due to their material and construction they are pieces that need to be…well, curated, I suppose…or they decay. So, on the other hand, I feel that part of what makes something art is the intention. So what do I do with my dolls? I paint them, I design for them, I use them in photographs that I take with the express purpose of portraying an artistic idea. That said, if I were to go to a gallery and look at a photograph that has been defined as art…is the subject of that photograph also elevated to art? Not really. It's the photograph that is the piece.

I can't help but think of my local low-brow art gallery when I think of my BJDs in terms of trying to define them as art or toys. I think there is a category of new art that walks a fine line as both toy and art. Something that is created with the intention of being more than a toy, but expressly created in the form of a toy to tap into a nastalgia of the artist and audience.

Hm, I think in the end I will opt for collectable. I think these dolls can be art, I'm not sure all of them are intended to be art. It would be interesting to see what the doll companies/doll creators thought when they created the dolls. ^_^

 

I look at them as a cross between art and figures. I do not consider them dolls per se, though I know they are technically called "ball jointed dolls." When I hear the word doll I think of a porcelain doll or an American Girl doll. These are much more sophisticated, and their posability is more comparable to action figures. Even though you can dress them and pick out their wigs, glorified action figures are what they are to me.

I don't display my bjds. Since I have cats, it isn't safe, and I don't want them exposed to light for hours on end. I get them out to "play" with them. Make them things, take pictures of them, etc. I have very developed characters for them, and have probably way too much fun with them. :P So they are both play and art for me.

 

Hmmmm...... interesting question.... stay with me for a moment here...

To me, my dolls are like real world avatars for different aspects of my personality. My big girl, Dollfie Dream Amaha Miu, is my motherly, responsible side. My MSD represents my teenage punk sweetie side and my yo-sd is my sugary sweet side. When I dress them and take them out, its like I am walking around with my online avatar in real life. They make an impression that reflects me. So thinking that way, they are much more art than toy. ^^ I hope that made sense! XD

 

I say they are both toy and art, but to me ath e word "toy" has a broad range of definition for me. When most people hear "toy" they think of little kid stuff. There are varying degrees of toys in my world.

 

I think of them as interactive art. I do 'play' with my dolls so I suppose I could call them toys as well. But I have much more emotional attachment to them then the vintage My Little Pony toys that I also collect. Perhaps that attachment elevates them to something more than mere toys (in the crudest sense of the word). I don't get offended by the term toy as to me there's something artistic about playline toys as well.

 

Art you can play with! That's how I think of them! I realized recently that am more and more interested in art-dolls and that they ARE the art I want to collect. And in a few rare cases actually HAVE managed to purchase. And it's a collection I dearly want to expand on.

 

I don't see them as toys, although technically dolls are toys (although if pressed, to a non BJD person, I would describe them as "collectible art dolls").

For me, though, they are definitely art, as an artist designed and sculpted them, and also because I, as an artist and writer, paint, customize, and photograph them, as well as use them to "illustrate" my original literary characters. Of course, art for me always = creative play.

 

Tool?

I really want to know if they're useful for basic figure drawing posing. But I will probably end up using mine more as toys.

 

I consider it collectible art that you can interact with. I would not call these dolls toys by any means.

 

lol...I never thought of this. Maybe the government agency that applied the designation of "toy" to dolls (bjd's) was a doll collector. I have to say that I am ever grateful for this distinction each time a new doll or clothes come home.



So the answer to the question would be I see them as both.

 

I consider BJDs both toys and works of art. I really don't consider 'toy' an insult, though. To me, BJDs are toys because they are designed to be played with, to pose and look expressive. They're also works of art because sculpting is incredibly challenging and takes huge amounts of artistic skill. I also think BJDs are feats of engineering, because the work and design that goes into making functioning (and attractive) joints is amazing.

 

Ιn my opinion BJDs are both, which is what makes them just so very special. (: They are works of art that can be played with, customized and displayed. They can be posed and changed and interacted with but they're more than a "basic" toy doll as they are not mass-produced and are all hand-sculpted and casted separately, often coming in a limited number of "prints" in the case of limited editions and just as usually displayed as such.

 

I consider BJDs art. Each one had an original sculptor after all and face ups are basically tiny paintings/drawings.

 

I think of my girl as a work of art, just one that I happen to enjoying playing with and carrying around, she isn't a toy in my opinion