CUTENCYCLOPEDIA
ANA MATILDE SOUSA & HETAMOÉ
Based on the adaptation of the doctoral thesis Cutencyclopedia: A Theoretical-Practical Investigation on Kawaii as an Aesthetic Category in Art and Pop Culture (2020) by Ana Matilde Sousa, supervised by the anthropologist and Japanese studies specialist Marylin Ivy (Columbia University), this theoretical-practical study combines a series of theoretical and graphic essays in the form of encyclopedia or critical dictionary entries to explore the concept of kawaii (“cute”) as an aesthetic category. The focus is on the influence of kawaii on contemporary visual culture and the phenomenon of the Japanization of global pop culture, encompassing everything from visual arts in museums and galleries to the digital underworld of mass culture.