Ringleberg presents paper on Japanese contemporary art and “Cute-ness” at National Art and Art History Conference

Kirstin Ringelberg, associate professor of Art History, presented “Not So Cute: Kawaii as Critique” as part of a panel called “Cute” held at the College Art Association in Dallas-Fort Worth on Thursday, February 21. Ringelberg’s paper called for a re-evaluation of contemporary Japanese art that plays upon the notion of kawaii (cute) culture in terms of the ongoing art-historical debate over the role of pleasure in socially critical imagery.