ASOS ADI was on snapchat the other day and came across an ASOS ad.
It is so interesting to see this (revival?) in fashion, and its no doubt a fleeting trend. Hello Kitty is the ultimate symbol of 'cuteness' but in conjunction to UK/European fashion and ideals of 'cuteness', Hello Kitty is used also in a 'sexy cute' way more than full out 'kawaii' as used by Japan/Asia. I can't tell if this is a small revival of Hello Kitty or just some of kind homage for the sake of nostalgia? Just something to think about...
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Plans for Translations ExhibitionI'm not going to lie, I'm starting to panic a little. Maybe 49 participants is a little ambitious?? In the end I will try my best to get as many people as I can. I considered turning to the SU for funding of some kind... but luckily Lucy and Bernice has talked me out of it. As an artist, I must find other ways to attract people to join the cause. Bernice and Lucy have recommended I ask other students from UAL who may be interested (this includes the theatre and performance programme at CSM as well as first and second year Fine Art students at Chelsea. I have contacted the programme leaders at CSM but to no avail. As Fred Meller, one of the programme leaders at CSM replied, "Sorry, I think you should look for your local students for this one." Chelsea is my only hope. This was been quite a journey, recruiting an army for my film. I hope it somehow shows through in my work. The work is not just about the final performance, it is about the process (like with most of my previous work). Translations ExhibitionI will have a video and a performance for the exhibition. I would say the video is the main attraction, but the performance will be essential for the concept of the 'translations'. It will be interesting to see both works come to life in different ways. For the film, I will need a projector and a dark secluded space. It needs to be dramatic and intimate. The work is also fairly quiet as well. As for the performance, I would like to have the army in formation at the Chelsea parade ground. I have been thinking of some formations, but I am also trying to think more creatively about how to occupy space....why not consider spaces like the entrance to the canteen? I don't have to simulate exactly what was in the video, people can SEE that in the actual film! I don't want it to be a theatrical performance per se, where it as a scheduled start time and end time...I want it to happen AROUND people whist having a strong and dramatic stance. I need to think like a an army recruit: if i want to exert my presence how would a leader display it? The ideal space would be CG10 but I am not sure if that is an available space. A possible space would be The Morgue but Lucy brought up a good point about how the Morgue has its own atmosphere that contradicts the essence of my work. Whether that would work or not, I will have to find out!! Either way, it is better than well-lit communal spaces like The Triangle space or the Cookhouse.
Recruit No.2: Finalising the CompositionAs with every collaborative performative work, I have to work with what I got. I was only able to pull about 7 people together for my second study. It helped me really understand that perspective and angles play a big part how 'the masses' can appear on the screen. Composition 1: The farther I go, the more sparse the 'army' looks. I will have to stay away from this composition for the filming. It is less dramatic and intentional (not really the word in looking for but maybe 'less casual?) This will be a slight problem since I can't work with editing and angles in the live performance for the Translations Exhibition. Composition 2a Composition 2b Composition 2c: For compositions 2a, b, and c, I was experimenting with seeing what angle will create the idea of the infinite line. Though Lena (the first person from the left) was the first in line, I wanted to see if she could appear like she wasn't. I don't know how successful that is but I would like to use it in my film. I may go with composition 2b more than 2c. Composition 3: The line formation as seen composition 2(a,b,c) seems to work better than composition 1 by far. Its not about how much ground they cover, but the density of it that really make it stronger. The line formation seems to also mirror the propaganda posters and I think it captures the essence of the 'collective identity' well. It also resembles a conveyor belt (imput vs output) like a machine, which I also like. Composition 4: This is one of my favourite shots. Not only do you have linear formation conveyed, there is a close up of the mask, exposing the details and materiality. It is also cinematically dramatic. The only thing I would say is, I don't know the focus is appropriate with this shot. I did like it at first, there is an emphisis on the participants at the back, making the string of them appear farther. However reflecting back, I would like the focus to be the mask in the front, as I want it to be the main point of the shot. Composition 5:
I also like this shot. I may go for something more dramatic, where I shoot from a low angle and facing slightly upwards. If I had more people in line, it may be more impressive. I should've asked the person on the left to also squeeze in a bit more to the centre so as to not have that gap. I will use this formation again but I will have to tweak the angle of the lends a little more cleverly for actual filming. Group Tutorial with Lucy GunningWed, Oct 25th 2017: Notes from discussion (my film stills)
Artist Reference: Vanessa ___?My First RecruitMy first recruit wasn't grand, but it was crucial to understanding how hard it is to get a group of people who don't know each other in one place. It started from word of mouth, and it eventually became a Facebook page (suggested by classmate Julia Collington). It was great because friends and classmates brought their own friends I really liked that interaction and how the message was spread. The Facebook was a closed group, which meant anyone could ask to join. I didn't expect strangers and hello kitty fan pages to ask to join the page. I tried to curate the page like recruitment propaganda. Not only did it fit with the nature of my work, it helps 'sell' my cause. It's dramatic and often make people feel like they are a part of something important or greater. I also asked Deborah to do an open call via UAL email and even posted on my own Facebook wall. The Process: Difficulties & ImprovementsThe first recruit went great - but it could be better. It was hard to get participants, especially from my course as they also had their own tutorials. I decided to do it at vauxhall park. Vauxhall park has a beautiful field with a dirt pathway right down the middle. I ended up changing the location last minute to the parade ground as most of the participants were already on Chelsea campus. The one thing I did not like was the paper masks I made. I ordered 96 plastic Hello Kitty masks from Japan and they weren't going to arrive in time. For the moment, I believed that the paper masks I made by hand would suffice. Because it was windy and the masks were flimsy, the masks attempted to fly off people's faces. Maybe adjustments had to me made by the participants themselves throughout filming. I also used fishing string to hold the mask together. The string is not stretchable and some find their masks too loose or too tight. All these issues will be resolved once the real ones arrive in the UK. OutcomeI tried out different angles and formations. Though my studies exist has a video, I have decided to show them as stills. Getting participants into formation, was a bit of a challenge. It will be harder to organise a longer 'army' too. I may use some images (even these studies) to explain to the participants what formation to get into when switching between them. My favourite are the last two photos. It catches all of the participants from a side angle allowing the viewer to see all the participants in the formation. Most of all, the viewer is able to see some of the participants up close, revealing the details of the Hello Kitty mask dramatically and clearly.
It also resembles old communist propagandas - A an army ready to march into battle. The Mask: And so I attempted to make my ideas a reality...sort of. Maybe I do sound I a bit ambitious but don't want just a group for Hello Kitties -- I want and Army of them. 100 sounds like a good number but I will have to start small...really small...like starting with one person.
The stills below are part of a series of video studies I did around my neighbourhood with my trusted sidekick and model, Andrei. I was focusing on the angle in which I want to shoot my video and how a member of a Hello Kitty army might interact with its surroundings. It quickly became apparent sensitive the compositions and the spaces were in the shot. The relationship and interaction between the subject and the scenery was strong. This was strongly inspired by a performance by Manit Sriwanichpoom called "Pink Man" (referenced before in the "Singapore Girl, You're a Great way to..." blog). Character is so still, it almost becomes the object rather than the subject. Like the Pink Man, the Hello Kitty man stands in contemplation, just like the viewer does with the work itself. As for the locations, I chose very neutral open and public spaces. I used nature to do this mostly. I wanted to stay away from sites that held historical or cultural connotations. Hello Kitty Conspiracies I decided to do more research on Hello Kitty as to why her name was so English. I thought it was just to appeal to a global audience...but it was much deeper than I expected. It turns about Hello Kitty IS English. According to an article from Business Insider in 2014, Hello Kitty is British, has a British twin sister and is not even supposed to be a CAT. Let's just let that sink in...Hello KITTY (aka KITTY White) is NOT A CAT. Here is are some bits from the article: The section of the article that really stood out to me was the awareness of this marketing gimmick. It was so well orchestrated, so subliminal yet it held such conviction and intention. Hello Kitty doesn't appeal to young Japanese girls solely through its cuteness -- It appealed to young Japanese girls in the 70s through an idealised British lifestyle. It's important to note that the Japanese weren't selling English/British culture to Japanese girls but were selling a shallow, almost stereotyped version of it. This is very much how tourism has decimated and packaged culture throughout the world. Even then, Hello Kitty is a symbol of Japanese culture, particularly Japanese Pop Culture and even subcultures like 'Kawaii' culture at the time. This is all starting to make sense to me. After all, I being Japanese, I grew up Hello Kitty like she was my childhood friend. The image below is a typical depiction of Hello Kitty when I was a child. The tea cup and red bow aesthetic does seem to create an idealised version of English culture. Icons, symbols & brands: |
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