This thesis examines how otaku subculture has been considered in narratives of contemporary art. I will analyze how the relationship of otaku culture and art is presented in art historical bibliography and selected curatorial texts, with special attention on the usage and discourse on character (kyarakutaa) motifs. The materials consist of literature and articles on Japanese art history, art criticism and culture industry, as well as curatorial texts from two 2022 exhibitions About Character Painting and Nijigen-ha. The theoretical framework is based on the concept of cultural fields (Bourdieu 1993), and utilizes Baumann’s (2001, 2007) outline on conditions for artistic legitimization. Additionally, in the light of subculture studies, otaku culture and aesthetic theory concerning its semiotic nature will be reviewed.

Many conditions have affected the way otaku character motifs have become a recurring topic within the history of fine arts. These include broader phenomena, such as the effects of culture policy and national branding linked to economic growth. Otaku motifs in art have also been connected to the rise of social media and alternative artistic practices that elude legitimized art institutions, such as museums and art universities. The differences in the operations and objectives within different cultural fields, i.e. the field of fine art and subcultural fields, manifest especially in how subcultural phenomena is treated within the field of fine art. In order to research otaku art beyond the perspectives that center national culture policy and art historical narratives built in the landscape of the 2000s, this work’s critical attention is expanded to include alternative institutions. By recognizing points of conflict between the systems pertaining to fine art and otaku subculture, I problematize the way low-hierarchical and amateur production modes have been capitalized to evoke appearances of authenticity and novelty in fine arts.

Motifs associated with otaku culture came to the spotlight in art around the turn of the 21st century. Within over 20 years, artists’ affiliation with otaku culture and the overall nature of subcultural production have undergone changes that have not been sufficiently researched in academia. In the selected art historical examples and curatorial texts, we can observe narratives pointing to an artistic movement where visual conventions of otaku culture do not necessarily follow narratives of art that pose the use of character motifs as pastiches of otaku culture and media franchises. Instead, they are presented as modes of expression emerging from the environment of internet platforms, originating their formal mannerisms from contexts of subcultural production and amateur illustration. Many artists work within both otaku spaces and the field of fine art. Especially the two curatorial texts in focus emphasize young artists’ digital nativism, social media, as well as character imagery’s permeation into the everyday. Considering some current critical approaches of “otaku” art and character motifs, I suggest that this examination of more recent phenomena, such as these exhibitions, could open possibilities for new art historical knowledge.