The kawaii-culture in Tokyo at the Intersection of Art, Design und Every Day Life Culture: Micro- and Macrolevels of Visual Communication und Production

Abstract

The japanese kawaii-culture (cute culture) is a strong visual culture whose aesthetical characteristics do not only display numerous connections to art but also to social interdependencies between the individual and the society that are regulated by kawaii design and performances. Herein the kawaii-culture fulfils several functions (e.g. as a transmitter of complex messages in social relations or as an instrument to build intimacy with the self and others). Furthermore the powerful kawaii-culture also offers new possibilities of creating identities beyond the available hegemonical role models. According to this, kawaii can be seen as a way to overcome normative concepts of identity as well as the dual categories of male and female.
Therefore, I will investigate the kawaii-culture regarding forms of visual communication and production from an artistic, design, and theoretical perspective.
The research design of my dissertation uses interdisciplinary experimental methods (e.g. Artistic Field Research, Artefact Analysis, Cultural Probes) of fields of research such as Design Anthropology, Material Culture Studies, Visual Studies, Visual Ethnography, and Design Research. By applying these methods, I hope to contribute to the establishment of art/design and research in their mutual relation (art/design enabled through science and vice versa) within acknowledged research disciplines.

Keywords:

Cute Studies, Hello Kitty Studies, Cross-Gender, Visual Research, Experimental Research Design, DIY/Crafting, Material Culture

Short biography

Based in Vienna and Tokyo • lived, worked and studied in Vienna, London, Sydney, New York and Tokyo • trained as a milliner, graphic designer, artist and teacher • awarded the Marietta Blau grant 2015/16 for deepening her research on the japanese kawaii-culture