The Influence of Anime on Contemporary Art

Abstract

The Influence of Anime on Contemporary Art Kristine Somerville Click for larger view View full resolution Mitsume, © 2022 MITSUME [End Page 91] Click for larger view View full resolution Mr., A Day When Many Dreams Come True, 2016. © 2015 Mr. /Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. Courtesy of the artist, Kaikai Kiki Co., and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London In fall 2000, when I stepped into the classroom as a new professor of English and creative writing at a women’s college in the Midwest, the moment resembled Dorothy opening the door of her small farmhouse to reveal the magical land of Oz. I first noticed the hypersaturated colors of my students’ clothing and then the distinctive styles of their outfits. They wore thrift-store frocks layered over blue jeans and ballet slippers, schoolgirl uniforms with knee socks and loafers, and baby-doll dresses with Mary Jane pumps. I knew from reading Vogue that their clothing choices were inspired by Tokyo Street fashion, a look that was more [End Page 92] Click for larger view View full resolution Mr., In a Corner of This Town, 2018. © 2018 Mr./Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. Courtesy of the artist, Kaikai Kiki Co., and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, Seoul, and London overgrown preschooler than college girl. Images of cherry blossoms, Pokémon characters, and Hello Kitty covered their book bags, and while I lectured, they busily doodled in their notebooks. They filled the pages with illustrations of stylized characters, mostly female, who looked gently suggestive with dilated saucer eyes, gravity-defying hair, and slinky [End Page 93] Click for larger view View full resolution Hiro Ando, Kohaku & Flag, 2009, courtesy of CrazyNoodles art collective dresses. After class they talked excitedly about the newest episode of Sailor Moon and shared mochi candies. No one had warned me that many of my students were swept up in the anime craze. My students’ interest in anime mystified me. They seemed to be re- creating a fantastical version of childhood, a time in my life that I couldn’t wait to leave behind. Truth be told, I have always disliked cartoons. I never wanted to see Disney movies, but my father insisted. [End Page 94] Click for larger view View full resolution Hiro Ando, Red Traffic, 2009, courtesy of CrazyNoodles art collective While he was moved to tears by the pleading eyes of Bambi, Dumbo, and Pinocchio, I was left cold. On Saturday morning, my brothers kept the channel tuned to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, The Woody Woodpecker Show, and The Roadrunner Show, programs I found loud and stressful. In junior high, I wanted to kiss Ricky Bradley, so I accepted an invitation to his house after school to watch Spider-Man. After an unspectacular kiss, I declined future cartoon-watching sessions. It just wasn’t worth it. Fortunately, in college during the 1980s, there was little mention of cartoons. Most English majors were anglophiles caught up in dreams of visiting Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterbury, and Bath. We accessorized our Laura Ashley knockoffs with worn copies of Austen and Brontë under our arms. So as a new professor at a women’s college, I had looked forward to sharing stories of productions at West End theaters and visits [End Page 95] Click for larger view View full resolution Hiro Ando, Ola, 2010, courtesy of CrazyNoodles art collective to the British Library. Instead, I was lost amid a lively anime culture; my students’ conversations were peppered with references I didn’t understand and stories of activities I knew nothing about. I began to question why anime was such a dominant force in Japanese culture and how it had achieved mainstream status among young people around the world. What I learned began with the simple fact that in Japan, anime isn’t a genre; it is a medium. Based on the adaptation of manga (comic books), light novels, and, later, video games, its popularity began to flourish after the country’s defeat in the Second World War. As an inexpensive, versatile form of entertainment that suited every age [End Page 96] Click for larger view View full resolution Jimmy Yoshimura, Blueyes, 2009, courtesy of CrazyNoodles...