1000 Idols Project

Portraits of Gaga Moving

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 23:29:00 +0000

All the Watercolor Gaga Wednesday paintings will be moving to this gallery in order to tidy up 1000 Idols, in anticipation of new idols coming in 2012. Hooray!

The Magical Girl Mondays Feature has also been removed, but the full poster can still be viewed here.

0076. Fujiwara no Sai

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 09:00:00 +0000

I considered myself pretty indulgent, including my favorite comic characters Shindou Hikaru and Touya Akira in the idols, but at conventions where I'm selling idols, I often get "but do you have Sai? He's my favorite!"

And so, by popular demand, and the fact that I don't really have to be pushed too hard to paint Hikaru no Go characters, here is the beautiful ghost from the Heian Era, Fujiwara no Sai.

0075. Billy Idol

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Billy Idol is an English rocker. He has a name very apt for entry to my blog. I think it was my mother-in-law's idea to include him.

0073 & 0074. Francine and Katchoo

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Francine and Katchoo are the protagonists, friends and maybe more, and highly valued members of the gay and lesbian comic book character compendium from Terry Moore's Strangers in Paradise.

(Yes, this is a repeat frame! I am shamed. I had scrapped these originally and used the frame for Lady Oscar. But. Oh well! 936 to go and I'm not gonna get hung up about it.)

0072. Boy George

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Sun, 29 May 2011 01:14:00 +0000

I dare you not to sing Karma Chameleon all day. Dare you.

Boy George is a British musician, popular in the 1980's, and was a hero of androgyny.

(Idols are back, new posts every Saturday!)

It's not 71 idols. It's 1000. I promise.

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 02 May 2011 00:39:00 +0000

Hello! Surely you've noticed the extended hiatus on 1000 Idols. A lot has happened, foremost being that my fiancé and partner of four years had an organ transplant in February. Making artwork was difficult as we went through this process, but we are finally in recovery and I am very excited to get back to work.

By the end of May, please look forward to more Idols! The studio is up and running again, and there are lots of exciting figures ready to be added to the collection!

Last month, I brought a full collection of Idol prints to Anime Boston 2011, where they were well received and many figures sold out! The Idols next appearance will be at Portcon Maine, Maine's largest Geek/Game/Comic/Anime convention!

In the mean time, if you're interested in owning an idol yourself, they are for sale for $5 each. They come as a true-to life size (4 x 6 in.) in a backboard and sleeve with a descriptive blurb for the idol (adapted from the blog). They are fun for admiration or worship or as unique gifts.

Just drop an email to korimichele at gmail dot com to order. I accept paypal payments only at this time.

Thanks for your support, and I look forward to sharing more idols with you!

0071. Utena Tenjou

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 16:52:00 +0000

Tenjou Utena is the heroine of the Japanese comic and anime Revolutionary Girl Utena. The original comic did not posses the same darkness that the anime would come to have, but both forms of the narrative established Utena, as well as many other members of the cast, as icons of adolescent alternative sexuality. It is often included in the "yuri" genre- a loose canon tied together by the theme of female love.

It's one giant, complex allegory, and Utena is a girl who wants to be a prince and save princesses. In her story, she is given a princess to protect almost immediately. We are led through the light and darkness of adolescence through symbol and reference, helped along by swordfights and so, so many roses.

For anime fans interested in possibly-lesbian-narratives growing up in the nineties, Utena was the 102 course to Yuri 101: Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune. Utena was not a unique character is theme– the heroine-who-dresses-up-as-a-prince trope is preceded by Lady Oscar and Princess Sapphire– but she was accessible to that generation as the comic and anime were licensed and translated in the United States at that time.

The story of Revolutionary Girl Utena unfolds much like a play, three acts establishing allegories of virtues, sins, and the apocalypse. It was disguised at first as a shoujo (girls) story, but gradually revealed itself to be rather dark and twisted- it was artful, and led to the production of a movie so bizarre fans are not sure whether to mention that particular incarnation to anyone.

Greetings, Idolizers!

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 21:05:00 +0000

This project is in a sort of interim period at the moment, to be resumed with regular updates starting in December! In the time between, we've made a print run of all the idols, taken them to two shows, and begun working on a book chronicling the process of those first 70 little icons. I've also been taking some time to study the history of idols and icons, starting with the excitement of the 700's iconclasm.

Until then, if you are at all interested in purchasing prints of idols for the holidays (individually packaged and backed true-size 4x6 inch prints) for $5 a piece, feel free to email me at korimichele@gmail.com. The order process is rudimentary (but secure) at the moment, but should become a little more sophisticated in the future.

When the blog returns, there will not only be regularly updating new idols, but also some essays and discussions as they come organically to the blog. In preparation for some of that, if YOU have photos of your own idols, send them to me! I hope to have the opportunity to share them in an essay or even just a gallery on this blog in the future.

-and as always, send idol suggestions as well. Though I have a running list of 100+ yet to complete, 100 is no where near 1000, so I will need suggestions from all over and outside of my individual perspective. You can email or simply comment those suggestions to me at any time.

Who do you idolize?

Thanks for your patience and support!

0070. Janelle Monae

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 02:26:00 +0000

Janelle Monae is an American musician and performer who founded the Wondaland Arts Society, a band of performers and thinkers who bear the creed "We believe music is the weapon of the future."

Monae recently released Archandroid, a sweeping epic album that's taken the music world by storm not only because of its intelligence and beauty, but also because of Monae as a character- her energetic, gender bending performances have captivated viral media.

Monae recently turned some heads by doing a photoshoot with a moustache, and defended the look with integrity and sincerity when the "girlstache" was challenged. This is what piqued my interest in her as a performer and a persona, though I was well converted to a fan the moment I heard her album weeks prior.

Find her and Archandroid at http://www.jmonae.com/.

0068. + 0069. Mulder and Scully

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are the dynamic lead duo from the TV/Movie franchise, The X-Files.

The show, centered around the pair of FBI agents investigating paranormal activity, was a hit in 1990's because it examined growing public sentiments regarding the government, conspiracy theories, and extraterrestrial and spiritual phenomena. The true staying power, however, was in the characters, whose theoretical dissonance and unresolved sexual tension made the show captivating and addicting.

0067. Bala Krishna

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:12:00 +0000

Krishna is one of the many forms of Vishnu, and the worship of Bala Krishna (child Krishna) attests to the strength of his childhood mythology and legend, and the value of the concept of lila, or "Divine Play."

Bala Krishna stands out to me as a deity with a rich narrative civilian legend. The eighth son of Vasudeva, he was conceived without sexual union, but rather through the minds of his parents, and was surrendered to foster parents to avoid being murdered by his uncle who was fated to be destroyed by Vasudeva's eighth child. It is in his country life where his legend flourishes- from tales of transforming a basket of fruit to jewels for a kind lady, to sucking the life out of the teat of a woman sent to poison him!

As a child he is revered for his brightness and love of fun and affection, but as a god, he represents also a strong sense of morality, cleverness, and retribution.

Posting Delay

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 02:06:00 +0000

A quick note to mention that new idols will not be posted until next Friday (9/17/10) as I focus on completing an another project this week. Thanks for following along!

0066. Shiva

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Shiva is the "destroyer," and third in the Hindu trimurti. This particular depiction of Shiva is the Nataraja Shiva, performing the universe-destroying dance that makes way for Brahma to begin creation again. The dance represents the destruction of illusion, and is usually represented in a bronze sculpture.

0065. Oscar François de Jarjayes

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Oscar François de Jarjayes, also known as "Lady Oscar" is the heroine of the monumental Japanese comic hit The Rose of Versailles, a girls' comic from the 1970's about a young woman raised as a knight who serves Princess Marie Antoinette. The comic has been a lasting favorite of Japan, retold in animation and musicals and still marketed through merchandise to this day.

The Rose of Versailles was born at the peak of the golden age of shoujo manga (lit. girl's comics), starring a brave and determined woman knight that inspired countless other manga artists. Lady Oscar was a direct influence on another comic girl knight, Tenjou Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena, who shaped a large part of my drawing style growing up, and who lingers in many of my illustration sensibilities today.

0064. Prince/Princess Sapphire

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Sapphire is the main character of Osamu Tezuka's 1950's comic Ribon No Kishi, a tale of a youth born with both a boy's and girl's heart. While her biological gender is female, she is raised as a boy by her father, the king, in order to prevent an evil man from inheriting the throne. There's subplot about an angel that is trying to correct his mistake by retrieving her extra heart, but she refuses to let him take her boy's heart away. She also dons a mask and fights crime at night!

In theory, Ribon no Kishi sounds incredibly progressive. A dual-gendered girl-prince who moonlights as a masked crusader? What about that isn't progressive? Actually, the narrative. In practice, Sapphire is very much a girl dreaming of being a princess and a wife, and her boy heart seems incidental.

What makes Ribon no Kishi interesting to me is the place in holds, or doesn't hold, in the history of shoujo comics. Shoujo manga (lit. girl's comics) is a genre with a history rooted deep in the Japanese gender roles cultivated at the turn of the century. The genre features sparkles and flowers, overflowing emotional narrative, flowing pages often without panels, and stars delicate, gentle girls with those signature giant starry eyes. From a masculine retelling of shoujo manga history, Ribon no Kishi is a landmark tale that set a standard for the genre. In reality, and an only recently accepted feminine perspective, Ribon no Kishi is an exception to the genre, rather than a contribution.

Past the jump, more on Ribon no Kishi's place in the history of girl's comics in Japan. Historical perspectives and facts for this entry are heavily drawn from the fantastic essay Opening the Closed World of Shoujo Manga by Mizuki Takahashi, in the book Japanese Visual Culture, Ed. Mark MacWilliams, 2008.

The origins, and much of the visual language and narrative tropes that contributed to what was known as shoujo manga, had been developing far before Tezuka began Ribon no Kishi, back in the late 1800's. And though the golden age of shoujo manga didn't come until the late 1960's into the1970's, Mizuki Takahashi says it best:

"A key sign that Tezuka is an exceptional rather than a key figure in the world of shoujo manga is his disinterest in the expression of the inner feelings of his heroines. In Ribon no Kishi, a straightforward narrative without any temporal or spacial ambiguities, the interior monologues of the heroine Sapphire are expressed in thought balloons pointing to her head, rather than in free-floating text. By using thought balloons, Tezuka ties the interior monogues to the passage of time in the frame, appropriate for an adventure story. Most Shoujo manga, however, use free floating text to indicate the main character's vague inner thoughts, approximating first-person narration (p.128)."

Tezuka essentially writes what is a boy's comic starring a girl, instead of a girl's comic. At least, this is true in the context of shoujo manga history– it was published in a girl's anthology, but that doesn't mean if was ever part of the club.

Shoujo manga history is complicated, because the ambiguous and abstract shoujo genre was ill received by critics of the day who didn't recognize the unique space it occupied in comics history. Compared to boy's comics, they found it hard to read, poorly drawn and awkwardly paced. Which it was, essentially (perhaps with the exception of the "poorly drawn" part), but it was also a visual code, a language meant to speak to particular perceived feminine sensibilities– therefore, it could not be fairly compared to boys and adult comics of the day on those terms.

What made Ribon no Kishi interesting to me, and Sapphire an icon, is how it helps define the shoujo genre in contradistinction. I came to understand what shoujo meant only by seeing the ways in which a boy's manga author wrote and drew a girl's comic.

More on the topic of shoujo manga, a genre dear to my heart, in Wednesday's post.

0063. Lakshmi

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 17:20:00 +0000

Lakshmi is the hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity. She is the consort of Vishnu and is closely connected to the icon of the lotus.

0062: Diana

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Diana is the Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and the protector of virgins. Originally just a goddess of the hunt, she morphed into a goddess with more responsibilities, and one of them, vowing to never marry. She's a powerful symbol with a hint of "I don't need a man" in her qualifiers.

Diana always seemed like an odd kind of goddess from the 21st century standpoint, where hunting is socionormatively a "man's job." But here she is, goddess of the hunt, and also, no, you can't marry her, so none of that "this character is totally independent until she gets married."

The reason you don't see any Disney Princesses on this blog is because of their tendency to be dimensional until they throw away any prior motivations/talents/aspirations/interesting traits to lay down and be a wife and princess. I'm not the first to complain about it, so I'll spare you the essay, but Diana seemed to transcend all of that. She likes to hunt and hang out around the moon, and no, she's not giving it up for anything. A pretty amazing "independent woman" role model. Too bad she doesn't have her own animated movie.

...don't get me wrong, though. I like men too.

0061. BlackJack

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

The star of one of Osamu Tezuka's many lengthy comic epics, BlackJack is the rogue, unlicensed surgeon, saving lives and collecting a high fee. It ran for ten years from the eighties into the nineties, and spawned a animated television show and two movies.

A serious, morbid comic, the audience evaluates the human condition through the eyes of this surgeon, who really has nothing to lose and very opaque motives. The series is a serial at its best, self-contained issues that drop in clues of a larger storyline as time goes on- about his past, about why he became a surgeon, about the people he's loved and lost and gained, and what his mission is. An antagonist appears later on, a euthanasist who Blackjack loathes for killing people he's sure he could have saved. On the whole, Blackjack is a good man, working for good even when his patients and onlookers send him away with curses and scorn. Dramatic irony at its best and most heartbreaking.

The Blackjack comic is a masterpiece, and is being released stateside in a fabulous presentation and translation. Tezuka is a master of an artform that developed a bit differently in Japan than it did in Western comics, and the devices he uses can be a pleasant surprise to those used to comics in the West.

0060. Eddie Izzard

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 21:21:00 +0000

Eddie Izzard is an executive transvestite. And is covered in bees. And makes us wonder- cake or death?

If having a near unlimited catalog of hilarious sound bites (that send nearby listeners into instant fits of genuine giggles) is any indication of greatness as a comic, then Izzard is clearly at the top of his craft. But not only is he a brilliant British comic, he is an executive transvestite. And a cross dressing comedian who's joke isn't that he's a male in a dress.

http://www.eddieizzard.com/

Below, his most quotable comedic ramble, "Cake or Death:"

0059: Spock

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Spock is the half-vulcan half-human first officer on the USS Enterprise in the Star Trek franchise. Played by Leonard Nemoy in the original television series, he provides to the series an "impartial view of the human condition." Named on the the 50 Greatest Television characters by TV Guide, he is a still-loved character, revisited with positive reviews in 2009 alternate-timeline Star Trek movie.

I can never claim to have been a Star Trek fan only because I was never a fan of science fiction in general. My primary knowledge of Spock is that he is half of the pairing that gave birth to the phenomena of slash fiction in the United States- that is, the act of creating fictional "fan" works featuring a relationship between male characters that do not have a romantic relationship in cannon.

I can also never claim to not be a fan of slash fiction in general, so there's my big dark secret, huh?

0057 & 0058: Maggie and Hopey

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Margarita Luisa "Maggie" Chascarrillo and Esperanza Leticia "Hopey" Glass are the two focal characters in comic artist Jaime Hernandez's opus Locas. As part of the Love and Rockets series (composed along with brothers Gilbert and Mario) these two Latina women have an open relationship around which the narrative is built. They evolve over time and tribulation- moving up, moving on, and moving down and back again. They are sometimes lovers and always friends across adventures that range from the nearly science-fictional to the most soap-opera-y drama.

When I became interested in LGBT comic book icons, I was told that Love & Rockets was a series I Had To Read. I fell in love with the art, but much less the narrative (not for lack of quality but on account of my tastes) and am continually impressed by the work, now compiled in beautiful hardcovers in Locas: The Maggie And Hopey Stories.

Temporary Posting Schedule Change

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

For the next couple of weeks, Idols will only be posting three times a week, while the artist sorts out some personal stuff. Thanks for following.

0056. Jareth/David Bowie

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Like in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, the character of Jareth is tied together with the personality portraying him. This time, it's David Bowie. Jareth was the Goblin King from the stunning 1986 Jim Henson movie Labyrinth. He was a complex character with ambiguous motives that set girls hearts on fire with his desperate desire for the heroine- though his consistently tight pants may have helped, too. David Bowie performed the musical numbers for the film and his personality brought a level of elegant strangeness to the character that he would have lacked at the hand of any other actor.

As a young girl, I recognized the genius of this backwards fairy tale, as well as the gorgeous aesthetics that made up the scenery and costume. Being used to tales of delicate princesses rescued by dashing princes, seeing Sarah grow strong as resist the longing Jareth was a welcome shock. Understanding that she was the one with power over him made the world of fiction all the more complex and beautiful to me.

And now, have some When the World Falls Down.

0055. Takashi Murakami

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Takashi Murakami is a contemporary Japanese artist, exploring many themes including, but not limited to, marketing, Japanese aesthetics and culture, history, and war. His projects involve painting, sculpture, printing, installation and animation. He is known for his visual theory "Superflat," an aesthetic perception fostered in Japan and supposedly reflective of it's post-war history. He often collaborates with designer label Louis Vuitton, creating both designer items and fine art from the collaboration.

His Studio: http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/

Murakami remains one of my favorite contemporary artists, from the moment I read Little Boy, and unearthed his previous title Superflat. Being one of those middle schoolers obsessed with anime in the '90's, I'd always wondered what role anime could play in fine art, and how it could do so intelligently. Murakami addressed not only anime, but Japan's entire visual culture, in a way that made sense to make art about.

0053 + 0054. Thoth and Seshat

noreply@blogger.com (Kori Michele) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:00:00 +0000

Thoth and Seshat are Egyptian Dieties, corresponding to speech and writing respectively. Thoth represents the heart and the ability to mediate and distinguish between good and evil. He is a powerful god, playing a key role in many important Egyptian legends. Seshat is known as the scribe or the record keeper, and she may be the daughter or wife of Thoth depending on the myth.