Cosplay and the Art of Play: Exploring Sub-Culture Through Art (Leisure Studies in a Global Era)

This book is an introduction to cosplay as a subculture and community, built around playful spaces and the everyday practices of crafting costumes, identities, and performances. Drawing on new and original ethnographic data, as well as the innovative use of arts-led research, this book adds to our understanding of a popular, global cultural practice. In turn, this pushes forward our understanding of play, fan practices, subcultures, practice-led research, and uses of urban spaces. __Cosplay and the Art of Play__ offers a significant addition to key contemporary debates on the meaning and uses of popular culture in the 21st century, and will be of importance to students and scholars interested in communities, fandom, identity, leisure, participatory cultures, performance, and play. Preamble and Acknowledgements 6 Contents 11 List of Figures 12 1 Introduction: What Is Cosplay? 13 Introduction 13 What Is Cosplay? 17 The History of Cosplay 18 Defining Cosplay 22 The Characteristics of Cosplay 28 Conclusion 29 References 30 2 Contextualising the Artwork 33 Introduction 33 Defining Subcultures Through Art 35 Documenting Subculture Through Art 40 Artists Exploring Cosplay 45 Conclusions 58 References 60 3 Cosplay and Art as Research Method 63 Introduction 63 Art Practice as Research 64 Doing Art-Led Research 71 David Hancock’s Cosplay 75 The Continued Importance of Painting 77 The Death of Painting? 81 Cosplay and Painting 84 Curation, Exhibiting, and Engagement 86 Conclusions 92 References 95 4 Cosplay as Subculture 98 Introduction 98 Who Are the Cosplayers? 100 Subculture 104 Reassessing Subculture 108 Cosplay as Subculture 112 Conclusion 123 References 124 5 Identity and Performance 129 Introduction 129 Identity 130 Modern Identity 134 Performing Cosplay 136 Performance and Performativity 146 The Individualised Self 157 Identities and Performance in a Digital Age 160 The End of Identity? 163 Conclusion 165 References 167 6 Crafting Cosplay 172 Introduction 172 Performing Audiences 173 Participatory Culture 176 Cosplay as Transmedia Design 179 Communities of Practice 185 Crafting 187 Crafting Cosplay 190 Authenticity and Judgement 194 Hierarchies and Harassment 198 Conclusion 201 References 203 7 Playful Cultures and the Appropriation of Urban Space 207 Introduction 207 Understanding Playful Culture 208 Play in Everyday Life 210 Exploring the City Through Art 212 Cosplayers (Re)Imaging Space 215 Urban Poaching 217 The Cosplayers’ Eye 218 Acts of Resistance? 225 A Safe Space for [Cos]Play 230 Cosplayers, Performance, and Other Urban Dwellers 232 Conclusion 234 References 236 8 Conclusion: Decentring Cosplay 239 Introduction 239 Looking at the Moon 239 The Invention of Creativity 242 The Creativity Dispositif 245 The Creative Audience 247 Freedom and Risk 248 Making Do 251 Move Slow and Make Things 252 References 254 Bibliography 256 Index 260 This book is an introduction to cosplay as a subculture and community, built around playful spaces and the everyday practices of crafting costumes, identities, and performances. Drawing on new and original ethnographic data, as well as the innovative use of arts-led research, this book adds to our understanding of a popular, global cultural practice. In turn, this pushes forward our understanding of play, fan practices, subcultures, practice-led research, and uses of urban spaces. Cosplay and the Art of Play offers a significant addition to key contemporary debates on the meaning and uses of popular culture in the 21st century, and will be of importance to students and scholars interested in communities, fandom, identity, leisure, participatory cultures, performance, and play.-- Provided by publisher Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction: What Is Cosplay? (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 1-20 Contextualising the Artwork (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 21-50 Cosplay and Art as Research Method (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 51-85 Cosplay as Subculture (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 87-117 Identity and Performance (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 119-161 Crafting Cosplay (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 163-197 Playful Cultures and the Appropriation of Urban Space (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 199-230 Conclusion: Decentring Cosplay (Garry Crawford, David Hancock)....Pages 231-247 Back Matter ....Pages 249-258