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Cited by 14Study and Philosophy of ReligionIndian and Buddhist StudiesArts and Performance Studies

What is an animated image?: Korean shaman paintings as objects of ambiguity

Kendall, Laurel, Yang, Jongsung·2015·Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory
DOI 10.14318/hau5.2.011
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Abstract

Building on a crossdisciplinary interest in how religion works materially, we examine the triangulated relationship between Korean shamans (mansin), the paintings of gods that hang in their shrines, and the animating presences that empower both mansin and paintings, drawing inspiration from Alfred Gell’s notion of “object agency.” The gods who inspire a mansin to manifest them in ritual and who animate the paintings in her shrine perform inspiration (of the shaman) and animation (of the paintings) in analogous and complementary ways through relationships that are variable, contingent, and often ambiguous. By contrast, the Buddha images that also inhabit the mansin’s shrine are a different kind of animated thing. Our study argues for more fine-grained discussions of numinous paraphernalia and the ways that the efficacy of sacred objects and bodies is realized (or not). We also offer a caution against the presumptions of generalizing terminologies such as “animated images” where different images might be qualitatively different kinds of animated thing, even within the same lived religious world.

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  • It is the mansin's own inspiration, the degree to which she is favored by the god, that causes the god to descend into and work through the painting.

    “even the purists will acknowledge that it is the mansin's own inspiration, the degree to which she is favored by the god, that causes the god to descend into and work through the painting (Kendall et al. 2015).”

    From Gods and Things: Is “Animism” an Operable Concept in Korea? (2021) · cites this paper as Kendall et al. 2015

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Authors
Kendall, L., & Yang, J.
Affiliations
American Museum of Natural History (US)
ORCID
Kendall, Laurel
Venue
Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory
Publisher
University of Chicago Press
Published
2015-09
Volume
5
Issue
2
Pages
153-175
ISSN
  • 2049-1115 (ISSN-L)
  • 2575-1433
DOI
10.14318/hau5.2.011
OpenAlex
W1787068356
Cited by
14
References
44
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2
FWCI
10.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Hau Journal of Ethnographic Theory (publishedVersion)
  • Hau Network of Ethnographic Theory (University of Rochester) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Study and Philosophy of Religion
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Visual Arts and Performing Arts › Arts and Performance Studies
Keywords
animated images, Korean shamanism, agency of objects, Alfred Gell, Buddhist images, sacred objects, ritual, material culture of religion

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