For my project, I am setting up a photo shoot with four cosplayers at the moment, including myself. I want to incorporate "before" photos - i.e our ordinary normal, un cosplaying selves, together with the cosplaying photos. The cosplayers are myself as Grell from Kuroshitsuji, Cecily as Crona from Soul Eater and possibly the Undertaker from Kuroshitsuji, Akita as Ritsuka and Kaylaa as Soubi, both characters from Loveless.
For myself as Grell, in the anime he gets very enthusiastic about taking pictures, usually of Sebastian who a) doesn't want his photo taken and b) will attempt to murder Grell if he sees him taking his picture. Because Grell's persona is so different to my own, I want to have a picture where he is getting overly enthusiatic about a picture, but the picture will be of myself.
For Cecily's picture as Crona, I feel that Cecily's and Crona's personalities are very similar and reflect each other. Crona is very anxious and doesn't know how to deal well with things. Crona is quite androgynous and is always seeking to protect herself. So I want to show that in the picture. I'd like to set up a mirror and have Cecily looking into the mirror and Crona looking out of the mirror.
For Akita and Kaylaa, their characters are in a yaoi or homosexual relationship. Because their characters are a couple, I will photograph them together. Ritsuka is another character who is obsessed with taking photos. He lost his memories at one point after his brother was killed and likes to record everything. He's very unsure of himself, his mother has been physically and emotionally abusing him for years since he lost his memories, insisting that he is not Ritsuka. Because a big part of his life is recording memories, I would like to use the camera as the focal point, taking a picture of Ritsuka and Soubi. But in the viewfinder, I would like to put the "before" picture of Akita and Kaylaa.
Will attach sketches later on today.
Monday, 30 September 2013
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Literature Review - "Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay"
"Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay" was written by Nicolle Lamerichs in 2011. She writes from the point of view of a participant observer, which was one of the attractions of this paper for me. Her main argument is that "costuming is a form of fan appropriation that transforms, performs, and actualizes an existing story in close connection to the fan's own identity".
She starts the article by describing her first experience cosplaying at a convention, where she cosplayed as Aerith from Final Fantasy VII in a Final Fantasy group. From the beginning of the article, I can identify with her experiences, particularly when she comments that one of the members of the group was recruited online (which happens all the time as cosplayers who love a particular series will actively advertise for more members of the group - I myself have done this in setting up my Kuroshitsuji cosplay group). She then goes on to discuss the origins of cosplay and its original roots in American Science Fiction conventions.
She goes on to explain that she is analysing cosplay in terms of performance - she uses a definition taken from Henry Bial in The Performance Studies Reader: "The term 'performance' most commonly refers to a tangible, bounded event that involves the presentation of rehearsed artistic actions…We can extend this idea of a performance to other events that involve a performer (someone doing something) and a spectator (someone observing something)" She explains that cosplayers can be practical in sometimes cosplaying a character they are not so attached to because sometimes the costume is able to made easily (which is a practical consideration and one I relate to - I originally wanted to cosplay as a character called Angela from Kuroshitsuji but have put it on the back burner because she wears a very complicated dress and has massive wings. It has been just too impractical to design her costume. I chose to cosplay as Grell mostly because his costume is less complicated and also because I already had a long red coat that was similar to his). She mentions that her first experience of cosplay as Aerith, she was not particularly attached to the character and in subsequent cosplays, she has picked characters that she is more fond of.
She then discusses cosplay and its context within society. She mentions how it is more acceptable to cosplay in Japan then anywhere else in the world, as it has become a part of the popular culture. In Western society, though, cosplay is usually restricted to conventions. She explains what happens at a convention, and talks about the performances at a convention - cosplay parade, competition and the act of walking around the convention and having pictures taken with fans.
In the next part of the paper, she starts to talk about the performativity of dressing up, summing it up in terms of cosplay as "Through the acts of constructing and wearing a costume, the fan constructs his or her identity in relation to fiction and enacts it". She then reviews Judith Butler's theories in perfomativity, mostly acknowledging that Butler's theories but at times criticising that sometimes Butler's view is little narrow, not looking at the more playful aspects of drag and not taking the motivations of the subject into account. She discusses crossplay and the motivations behind this: "Crossplay can be only an occasional practice, enacted because the player likes a certain character of the opposite gender; it can be part of a parody (e.g., Man-Faye; Sailor Bubba); it can be motivated by a player's preference for a certain outfit despite the gender of the character. Some crossplayers enjoy the challenge of behaving like a member of a different gender, while others see themselves as publicly declaring the fluidity of gender. Additionally, crossplayers choose their characters according to more than merely gender." Because I myself crossplay as Grell (although in terms of character, he is a very interesting character to investigate - he himself identifies as female, refers to himself using female pronouns and is actively transgender in a time period where this would be impossible), I can identify with some of these concepts, mostly because I like the character and I have fun acting as him for the day as he is very flamboyant and over the top.
STILL BEING CONTINUED
She starts the article by describing her first experience cosplaying at a convention, where she cosplayed as Aerith from Final Fantasy VII in a Final Fantasy group. From the beginning of the article, I can identify with her experiences, particularly when she comments that one of the members of the group was recruited online (which happens all the time as cosplayers who love a particular series will actively advertise for more members of the group - I myself have done this in setting up my Kuroshitsuji cosplay group). She then goes on to discuss the origins of cosplay and its original roots in American Science Fiction conventions.
She goes on to explain that she is analysing cosplay in terms of performance - she uses a definition taken from Henry Bial in The Performance Studies Reader: "The term 'performance' most commonly refers to a tangible, bounded event that involves the presentation of rehearsed artistic actions…We can extend this idea of a performance to other events that involve a performer (someone doing something) and a spectator (someone observing something)" She explains that cosplayers can be practical in sometimes cosplaying a character they are not so attached to because sometimes the costume is able to made easily (which is a practical consideration and one I relate to - I originally wanted to cosplay as a character called Angela from Kuroshitsuji but have put it on the back burner because she wears a very complicated dress and has massive wings. It has been just too impractical to design her costume. I chose to cosplay as Grell mostly because his costume is less complicated and also because I already had a long red coat that was similar to his). She mentions that her first experience of cosplay as Aerith, she was not particularly attached to the character and in subsequent cosplays, she has picked characters that she is more fond of.
She then discusses cosplay and its context within society. She mentions how it is more acceptable to cosplay in Japan then anywhere else in the world, as it has become a part of the popular culture. In Western society, though, cosplay is usually restricted to conventions. She explains what happens at a convention, and talks about the performances at a convention - cosplay parade, competition and the act of walking around the convention and having pictures taken with fans.
In the next part of the paper, she starts to talk about the performativity of dressing up, summing it up in terms of cosplay as "Through the acts of constructing and wearing a costume, the fan constructs his or her identity in relation to fiction and enacts it". She then reviews Judith Butler's theories in perfomativity, mostly acknowledging that Butler's theories but at times criticising that sometimes Butler's view is little narrow, not looking at the more playful aspects of drag and not taking the motivations of the subject into account. She discusses crossplay and the motivations behind this: "Crossplay can be only an occasional practice, enacted because the player likes a certain character of the opposite gender; it can be part of a parody (e.g., Man-Faye; Sailor Bubba); it can be motivated by a player's preference for a certain outfit despite the gender of the character. Some crossplayers enjoy the challenge of behaving like a member of a different gender, while others see themselves as publicly declaring the fluidity of gender. Additionally, crossplayers choose their characters according to more than merely gender." Because I myself crossplay as Grell (although in terms of character, he is a very interesting character to investigate - he himself identifies as female, refers to himself using female pronouns and is actively transgender in a time period where this would be impossible), I can identify with some of these concepts, mostly because I like the character and I have fun acting as him for the day as he is very flamboyant and over the top.
STILL BEING CONTINUED
Monday, 23 September 2013
What is cosplay?
Cosplay is short for "costume play", which is where participants select a character from a video game, anime, manga, movie or television series and dress as the character. The costumes are highly detailed and there is an emphasis on the costume as being "canon", which refers to being as accurate as possible according to the source material.
Usually the character chosen by the cosplayer is someone who the cosplayer feels a special connection with. The cosplayer is always firstly and fore-mostly, a fan of the work they are representing.
In order to do cosplay, the cosplayer must learn many skills. Firstly, is being able to research costume and character. This is a big component in order to get the costume as accurate as possible. Many cosplayers learn how to sew, whether by hand or using sewing machines. Some cosplayers specialise in creating props, usually weapons, jewellry making and armour. There are online communities dedicated to props/armour/sewing tutorials and cosplayers in general have a very active presence online. The emphasis is to look as accurate as possible, so makeup skills are essential. Some cosplayers purchase contact lenses (some of which are custom designed) and wigs are an essential part of cosplay.
Cosplayers generally cosplay for photo shoots and at conventions. In New Zealand, cosplayers cosplay mostly for the Armageddon conventions but there is also the Overload convention and the Cosplay Ball.
In Japan, cosplayers flock to Harujuku on Sundays. These are not just the cosplayers who cosplay as characters from anime/manga, but also the Lolita cosplayers. Lolita fashion contains several branches - ouji (boys "prince" style - which is very androgynous and can be done by both men and women), sweet lolita (which is where the girls wear pastel shades and lots of frills) and elegant gothic lolita/aristocrat (which is Victorian style in dark shades, usually black).
Usually the character chosen by the cosplayer is someone who the cosplayer feels a special connection with. The cosplayer is always firstly and fore-mostly, a fan of the work they are representing.
In order to do cosplay, the cosplayer must learn many skills. Firstly, is being able to research costume and character. This is a big component in order to get the costume as accurate as possible. Many cosplayers learn how to sew, whether by hand or using sewing machines. Some cosplayers specialise in creating props, usually weapons, jewellry making and armour. There are online communities dedicated to props/armour/sewing tutorials and cosplayers in general have a very active presence online. The emphasis is to look as accurate as possible, so makeup skills are essential. Some cosplayers purchase contact lenses (some of which are custom designed) and wigs are an essential part of cosplay.
Cosplayers generally cosplay for photo shoots and at conventions. In New Zealand, cosplayers cosplay mostly for the Armageddon conventions but there is also the Overload convention and the Cosplay Ball.
In Japan, cosplayers flock to Harujuku on Sundays. These are not just the cosplayers who cosplay as characters from anime/manga, but also the Lolita cosplayers. Lolita fashion contains several branches - ouji (boys "prince" style - which is very androgynous and can be done by both men and women), sweet lolita (which is where the girls wear pastel shades and lots of frills) and elegant gothic lolita/aristocrat (which is Victorian style in dark shades, usually black).
Elegant Gothic Lolita (left), Ouji style (right)
Sweet Lolita
Cosplay in Japan began in around 1978. The Japanese cosplayers referred to themselves as "reiya", which translates to mean "layer", as this refers to the many different "layers" involved in the cosplay (hair, makeup, costume, etc). As of 1998, there are many cosplay cafes, particularly in Harujuku and Ahihabara, where waitresses dress up as anime characters or as maids.
However, cosplay didn't actually begin in Japan. It began in science fiction conventions in America from as early as 1939. American cosplayers started out cosplaying for television series such as Star Trek. But then the phenomenon moved to Japan, where it has been reinvented as almost a way of life. Cosplay has been changing in America as well, with the arrival of steampunk in particular, as steampunk and the lolita fashions in Japan are closely linked, becoming more of a lifestyle rather then just dressing up for conventions.
There are some cosplayers who cosplay professionally, which means that they spend their time building costumes, going to conventions and competing in competitions (which usually have a cash prize). To enter competitions though, at least 75% of the costume must be handmade by the cosplayer. The other 25% usually goes towards things that would be difficult to hand make, such as wigs or shoes. There are some cosplayers who are "purists" who like to make their own wigs and shoes as well. The competitions are usually held at the major conventions. In New Zealand, the competitions are held at Armageddon (which is a Trans-Tasman event) and one has just been started at Overload. Most cosplayers in New Zealand however, do not enter into the competitions because it is a very expensive and time consuming pastime.
There are some cosplayers who cosplay professionally, which means that they spend their time building costumes, going to conventions and competing in competitions (which usually have a cash prize). To enter competitions though, at least 75% of the costume must be handmade by the cosplayer. The other 25% usually goes towards things that would be difficult to hand make, such as wigs or shoes. There are some cosplayers who are "purists" who like to make their own wigs and shoes as well. The competitions are usually held at the major conventions. In New Zealand, the competitions are held at Armageddon (which is a Trans-Tasman event) and one has just been started at Overload. Most cosplayers in New Zealand however, do not enter into the competitions because it is a very expensive and time consuming pastime.
Monday, 16 September 2013
Cosplay and Identity
When you are a cosplayer, one thing you hear all the time is "the things we do for cosplay". We're not getting paid for our services, yet we spend huge amounts of time, money and effort to create elaborate costumes to wear for a few days. The costumes are hardly comfortable either - when I cosplay as Grell, he wears his coat looped over his arms. This, combined with the arm garters he wears and carrying a chainsaw for the day, mean that by the end of the convention, my arms are very very sore. And Grell's costume is reasonably comfortable - I met a professional cosplayer in Auckland last year, who, because her costumes are so elaborate and she is usually welded into her armour, goes to conventions and does not eat and drinks very little water (because she cannot take her costume off). She mentioned an event in America where she cosplayed as a Bioware character and collapsed. A gentleman came to protect her from cameras, when she came to she discovered that he was the owner of Bioware. Horrified that the costume design meant that she could not get out of the costume, he asked that she be consulted on all their game designs so that they would be easy for cosplayers to get in and out of.
Because I am participating in the cosplay events, I have a unique perspective. I consider that cosplay is leaning and breaking through the fourth wall between the media (video games, anime, manga) and becoming something else - performative art. I want to capture this, using photography and digital art. I also want to capture some of the moments where the line between cosplay and becoming the character is slightly blurred - for example, at Hamilton Armageddon, while I was taking a break, I saw two Harley Quinns and a Joker from Batman. While the Joker was causing trouble (I think he had picked up another cosplayer and was running around with her), the two Harleys were just standing together, casually chatting as though it was nothing out of character. Even though they were not perfoming at that moment, were just relaxing, there was something about the scene that was so quintessentially the characters - as though they had almost unconciously become the characters.
Currently, I am working on finishing my cosplays so I can start photographing them. I am also researching poses I want to use and backgrounds I want to create using digital art.
Because I am participating in the cosplay events, I have a unique perspective. I consider that cosplay is leaning and breaking through the fourth wall between the media (video games, anime, manga) and becoming something else - performative art. I want to capture this, using photography and digital art. I also want to capture some of the moments where the line between cosplay and becoming the character is slightly blurred - for example, at Hamilton Armageddon, while I was taking a break, I saw two Harley Quinns and a Joker from Batman. While the Joker was causing trouble (I think he had picked up another cosplayer and was running around with her), the two Harleys were just standing together, casually chatting as though it was nothing out of character. Even though they were not perfoming at that moment, were just relaxing, there was something about the scene that was so quintessentially the characters - as though they had almost unconciously become the characters.
Currently, I am working on finishing my cosplays so I can start photographing them. I am also researching poses I want to use and backgrounds I want to create using digital art.
Friday, 6 September 2013
Methodology
For those of us who cosplay, there is a lot to do with performing as the character during the day, trying to stay in character (which can be hard, especially when you're hot, exhausted, hungry or just needing to visit the facilities). If a person asks for a photo with you, you put your game face on.
In the online communities (of which there are many - I myself belong to 5 on Facebook, one of which is my own group), it is often common for people to be known more as their "character" rather then the person themselves. Because I cosplay as Grell from Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler, I am most often known as Grell. When there are people who really know the character, then there will be times were people will start role playing online as their character. Grell is a transgender male shinigami/soul reaper from the Victorian period, so he is very flamboyant and theatrical. He likes to use a lot of puns - he ends his sentences in the word "Death". He also pursues other male characters whether they like it or not. Whenever he leaves, he blows a kiss and says "Bye Bye Kiss". When I act as Grell, I like to use as many of his mannerisms as possible, which involves a lot of research before the event.
I am looking to investigate this more, as a participant observer. Because I am a digital artist, I am going to use a combination of drawing and still photography of cosplayers.
I am looking primarily at the text "Re-Animating Space" from this class. I have also found a text by another cosplayer Nicole Lamerichs "Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay, which was written in 2011. She uses Judith Butler's works on performativity and gender as a base, so I will look further at Butler's texts as well.
Current references:
Lamerichs, Nicolle. 2011. "Stranger than Fiction: Fan Identity in Cosplay." Transformative Works and Cultures, no. 7., http://journal.transformativeworks.com/index.php/twc/article/view/246/230
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