M50

Minji Kim
Blog Entry 3
Two weeks ago, our class visited M50 area to look around various art works done by talented artists all over the world. One of the most memorable exhibitions to me was the one with cosplay photographs, which was held by Epson. Cosplay refers to “costume play” which people wear clothes or accessories imitating a fictional character in Japanese cartoons. I was actually grown up with diverse Japanese cartoons when I was back in Korea. I was always mesmerized by the way the characters were drawn and how storyline was built. Even though I loved Japanese cartoons and their characters as a child, however, I always gave a cold glance to people who did cosplay. In school, those kind of people who were obsessed with cosplay were to be called ‘geeks’ among peers, and I never tried to understand them, nor I was able to understand them. However, it was a bit different this time. I will definitely be really embarrassed if someone asks me to do cosplay, but when I looked at the exhibition carefully, I could (sort of) understand why people did that performance art. It might be a way of escaping a reality and becoming whatever or whoever you want to be. You can do whichever you want, and your capability is never limited at least at the moment of performance. Cosplay is a form of art that would bring you to an imaginary space. Every human being has inclination of destroying the walls around you and being a whole different person. The cosplay artists would see their performances as a bridge from the reality to illusive ideal.