Japan Festival, part 2: Presentation

   This is the room where I presented, later used to show anime such as Evangelion. (This was the first in the tetralogy of Evangelion Rebuild, which premiered in Japan on 9/1/07, and is the only movie I've seen in Japan.)

   As you can see, it was a large room–glad I didn't see the view from the back until later or I may have chickened out!

   Here's a description of my presentation. It was expanded from the one I gave to the JAS group in May. (And they changed the title to one they thought would draw more fans!):

“Hello Kitty and Other Japanese Characters” – The Use of Characters to Promote Products, Prefectures (States in the US), Cities and Almost Everyting! – Jen Rarey

Ms. Jen Rarey works for Hallmark Cards. Jen’s discussion will explore the proliferation of cartoon characters used in Japan for advertising and informational graphics, hypothesize why characters are so fully embraced by Japanese society – and how and why this differs from their use in the U.S. She will share many photos taken on her “scavenger hunts” for characters in central Japan.

Jen grew up near Columbus, Ohio and earned a BFA in illustration from The Columbus College of Art & Design in 1997. Since then she has worked for Hallmark Cards as an artist, art director, and creative director. A member of the Heart of America Japan-America Society, Jen has both studied Japanese and traveled in Japan. Her enthusiasm for Japanese culture and expertise in character design will make for an especially interesting combination. You definitely won’t want to miss her presentation!

Attendees at her presentation will be treated to a fascinating look at character design in Japan and how it differs with the United States’ use of cartoon characters. Jen will share her knowledge of this cultural phenomenon, including the history of character design in Japan and her own influences as an artist (Disney, Sanrio/Hello Kitty and Miyazaki, to name a few). Attendees will be impressed with an amazing montage of character photos that include anime, manga, advertising and informational graphics."

   After a slight hitch in the first presentation (the tech guy forgot to bring me the adaptor required for my laptop), I really enjoyed speaking to the group, and both groups were excellent audiences: attentive, engaged in the topic and ready with some great questions. What I learned from presenting to JAS in May was that my photos were a big hit, so I had added many more images & also some video clips from Anpanman, Ultraman, Pokemon & Qoo—as well as some funny & obscure characters.
   The woman who introduced me was Japanese, originally from the Yokohama area, and said she learned some things from my talk, which made me feel really good.
   Kelly, Renee, Joe & Ian all came out to support me, and much to my surprise, Helen Hall was in the audience! I hadn't seen her in several years—6 at least—since she shadowed me when I was an artist in the humor studio. It was really great to see her again! I also saw Chieko, Carrie, Mickey, Patty W & Patty M—as you'll see in my next post. I was hoping to catch Sachie & Kazuyo but missed them in the chaos. The festival was wonderfully crowded.

Here are a few images from my presentation: