PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
| Level | Doctor of Philosophy |
|---|---|
| Student | Mr David Hancock |
| Status | Complete |
| Part Time | Yes |
| Years | 2010 - 2016 |
| Project Title | Interventions in cosplay through interdisciplinary practice |
| Project Description | The focus of this thesis is to understand an artist’s response to youth subcultures that explore, interact, interpret, and inhabit the urban environment, and to examine how this informs their work and can also provide new insight into understanding subcultures. The thesis presents my research into cosplay, a media culture that combines elements of performance and art practices that has been the focus of my own artwork since 2010. Cosplayers are predominantly young people who dress up and role-play characters from computer games and Japanese manga and anime. I consider how cosplay deals with the urban space by imposing an imaginary construct within the physical environment that transforms it into a space for play. At the core of this thesis is my aim to understand whether a contemporary fine artist, primarily working in the discourse of painting, can provide new insight into the links between our actual environment and that of the fictional worlds created within computer games or other fantasy texts. By investigating a youth subculture centred around gaming and immersive digital environments, I construct a case for how a cosplayer can manipulate their location, which feeds into my depiction of their creative incursions into the real space. This is a key contribution to new knowledge: in that, I elaborate how cosplayers edit their environment to suit their activities, and then use this to create a substantial body of paintings. Through my art practice, which references the visuallanguage, history, and traditions of painting, I present how I use these creative processes to address this fundamental question. As this thesis is practice-led, I am able to demonstrate my concepts in a wholly unique manner that enables me to apply theories within the process of making artworks. This provides a perspective into subcultural practices that is beyond a typical ethnographic study. With society increasingly familiar with the notion of a screen as a portal to an immersive world combined with social interaction, my work suggests how digital technology can be manifest through the seemingly archaic means of applying pigment to a surface. Art has a tremendously rich history, with its own visual and written language; however, this can also be a hindrance to the contemporary artist working in traditional techniques, where each gesture has an inbuilt meaning. Therefore, I address how painting can be implemented as a vital means in representing how society is becoming more technically adept, highlighting its continued relevance in bridging tradition and innovation, whilst adding to our understanding of our position in the twenty-first century. |
| Awarding Institution | The University of Salford |
| Director of Studies | Garry Crawford |