Count D and La Carmina are often called "living cartoon characters," and we found ourselves in good company at the media-only preview of KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Comics + Video Games. Art Spiegelman, best known for his Pulitzer-winning graphic novel Maus, co-curated the exhibit with cartoonist Seth, video game designer Will Wright, Antz director Tim Johnson, and other industry icons. We're huge fans of Art's work - so we jumped at the chance to scamper around the gallery with him as our guide.
With this ambitious, multimedia project, the Vancouver Art Gallery threw off its reputation as a repository for staid Emily Carrs. The space was set up like a video game; we passed through seven "levels," each defined by a different medium and environment: wall projections of anime (Akira, Ghost in the Shell), TV game clusters (Pong, Super Mario), a kinetic wall for displaying manga (Sakuran, Afro Samurai).
The most dazzling environment was the one dedicated to manga. Pages from Sakuran, Afro Samurai, and Pure Trance were blown up and framed.
The conference began with a catered lunch: Count D managed to stuff an entire mini-burger in his mouth, but I'll refrain from posting the unflattering photos. Art Spiegelman stepped up to the podium. I scribbled in my notebook, "He's wearing a black vest, just like his character in Maus!" Count D whispered, "How disappointing - I expected that he would have the head of a mouse."
Art is a riveting speaker and tour guide. Starting with panels from Krazy Kat, he spoke about the challenges of the art form and its cultural/aesthetic significance: "With the constant bombardment of visuals, making sense of it is a heroic effort." He stresses the connections between comics and historical art: "A history of manga should not begin in the 1980s, but with the woodblocks of Hiroshige and Hokusai."
After the tour, Art snuck outside for a smoke... and we ran after him! Count D broke the ice: “I know it’s a cardinal rule never to interrupt an artist on his cigarette break, but…” He pulled out In the Shadow of No Towers. Art was a total sweetheart; he shook our hands and signed the front page.
I took out my copy of Maus and quipped: “We carry around your complete works at all times.” Art asked, "What's your name again? I was so busy staring at you that I wasn't listening." He drew me a portrait of himself (as an adorable smoking mouse) with "For Carmen!" in a speech bubble. My companion did not get such special treatment. 
I struck up a conversation with senior curator Bruce Grenville, who wrote an intriguing analysis of Cao Fei's 2004 video "Cosplayers." “Most cosplay events take place in the most banal public settings – city streets, convention centres – creating a wonderful incongruity between the fantastic costumes and the prosaic backdrops.” Cao Fei highlights this discrepancy by capturing cosplayers amidst the convulsive urban setting of Guangzhou.
Is the work a critique of capitalist fantasy and indolent youth culture? Bruce suggests it is an “act of resistance to the banal realities of everyday life" on the part of youths "who have the economic and political freedom to imagine another type of existence.”
Gothic Lolita differs from cosplay in many regards - but both reject the dominant culture that "devalues the imaginary, the game, and the masquerade." Bruce notes the intersections between fashion, manga, and anime; this may be a reason Japanese fashion and youth culture are more visual than ours.
Leather jacket: Bensoni
Dress: Vanessa Barrantes for Shumaq
Tights: from Hong Kong
Sandals: Rockport
Handcuff necklace: Bossoni
Wristbands: handmade
The rest of our day could have been a karaoke video montage: Mojitos on the patio followed by ice cream, strolling barefoot on Jericho Beach, hanging out Spidey-style at the playground, watching the sun set over the Coast Mountains and Pacific Ocean. Ah, summer... my favorite time of year, even though I try to preserve the Gothic pallor!
