Happy Birthday
Chinatsu Banfrom
Kaikai Kiki web site
<http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/artworks/eachwork/happy_birthday/>
Chinatsu Banfrom
Kaikai Kiki web site
<http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/artworks/eachwork/happy_birthday/>
赤い毛糸帽の女の子
(A Girl Wearing A Red Wool Hat)
Chihiro Iwasaki
from the book 『ゆきのひのたんじょうび』
I often feel cuteness when I see little kids, animals, small flowers, etc. so I think my idea of kawaii is rather related to something "small" or "little." I guess this is why I chose the two pictures above.
In the first picture "Happy Birthday" from Kaikai Kiki web site, there are one big elephant and one small elephant and between the two, there is a girl holding a huge birthday cake. One of the cutest parts of this picture is the little elephant. Compared with the big elephant, his size is almost the same as the red apple. This little elephant is really working well in this cute picture.
The second picture of a little girl is also a good example of my idea of kawaii. Her small hands and face (the red hat is much bigger than her face!!) is expressing a cute girl well. I also think the color plays an important role. The red hat and gloves are pale and make the picture really soft and warm. The all pale colorings give warm images toward this picture.
I think the artist kept in mind that small images invoke feelings of cuteness. This is something that is seemingly toyed with in the first image as items such as the apple and whatever it is the girl is standing on are made much smaller than the girl and the elephant. This then becomes an image that is very unrealistic but at the same time cute. the second image has very rounded features and the use of the bright color red seems to add to its cuteness. Also, the blushing cheeks and the artists decision to separate the character from any type of background adds to its cuteness.
ReplyDelete-Michael T.
I like the second picture of the girl with the red cap the most. This represents a part of the kawaii culture that really hasn't been discussed yet: over-sized clothing. All throughout manga and anime there are characters who wear outfits that are too big for them. Whether it is a huge hat or a shirt with sleeves that are twice as big as their occupant's arms (I'm looking at YOU Lucky Star...) over-sized clothing seems to be a mainstay of the kawaii archetype.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's supposed to invoke feelings of compassion. You know, "Aww, she wants to grow up. Look at how she tries to wear grown up clothing!" It also speaks to a sense of innocent naivety that the kawaii image thrives off of.
Anyhow, cool pictures:)
It is interesting, though (and I'm sorry if I ruin your image of the painting!) that the little elephant is looking DIRECTLY up the little girl's skirt. There are some oddly perverse things about this picture like that.
ReplyDeleteIn the watercolor of the little girl, the massive hat seems to be dwarfing the girl's face, which makes her seem that much more childlike and cute. The chilled rosy cheeks and nose are also childish, suggesting she has been frolicking around in the snow in kid-like innocence.
And the neko-nabe is just freaking adorable. Is that something from like a neko-kissaten or something? I don't think I've ever heard of neko-nabe before.