Paper short abstract

Are toys like icons? A paper on religious kitsch, play, and imagination.

Paper long abstract

This paper asks how the materiality of toys relates to their capacity to engage the human imagination. I approach this by comparing toys to religious icons, which share many features (miniaturization, representation, tactile qualities) but whose purpose is usually understood to be completely distinct. Action figures and statuettes of saints both invite us into material relationships; both suggest qualities of animacy and profound meaningfulness. So how should we approach the seemingly obvious difference in their purposes? And how should we understand objects that straddle the boundary between toy and icon, such as Jesus action figures and religious kitsch? In exploring these questions I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between ritual and play.