Tetsuwan Atomu's birthday: Manga and Robots at Ohio State

Mon Mar 3 10:28:43 EST 2003

Happy Birthday, Atom! Celebrating Tezuka's Astro Boy:

Exhibit and Series of Events on Manga and Robots

The fictional "birthday" of Astro Boy, April 7, 2003, is the moment when
history catches up with the events described in the popular Japanese
cartoon from the 1950's.  "Happy Birthday, Atom!" honors one of the
world's most popular cartoon characters.  The child robot, Tetsuwan
Atomu ("Mighty Atom"), known as Astro Boy in English, was the earliest
and greatest success among characters created by Japanese cartoonist
Tezuka Osamu (1928-1989).  In the original story that began publication
in 1951 and became Japan's first animated television series in 1963,
Astro Boy was brought to life on April 7th, 2003.  To celebrate this
occasion, Ohio State's Cartoon Research Library is holding an exhibit
and a series of interdisciplinary lectures and seminars on themes
related to manga (Japanese cartoons) and robots.  The goal is to explore
how Tezuka and other Japanese cartoon artists incorporated scientific
knowledge and perspectives on social issues in their work and what the
resulting influence has been.  
The exhibit features selections from the Cartoon Research Library's
collection of printed manga, the largest at a U.S. research library.
Highlights include an original draft of a cartoon by Tezuka set during
the American Occupation of Japan. Four variant versions of the story of
Astro Boy's birth are on exhibit, ranging from the first, created in
1951 to the 1975 edition that is the basis for the English translation.
To complement Tezuka's robot, materials about the early history of
robots in Japan are on display. The exhibit includes works by Fujiko
Fujio, Ishinomori Shotaro, Nagai Go, and other cartoonists who used
robot characters in manga.  
In Japan, manga and anime influenced the post-World War II generation of
engineers to dream about creating humanoid robots in the future.  Most
recently, such dreams have come to fruition with Honda's humanoid robot,
ASIMO.  The development of Honda's ASIMO is also included in both the
exhibit and the events.    

All events are free and open to the public.  

For more information, 
visit http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/cgaweb/exhibitionsandevents.htm or
contact: Mineharu Nakayama, Director, Institute for Japanese Studies
(614-292-4002 and nakayama.1 at osu.edu or jasco at osu.edu) or Maureen
Donovan, Japanese Studies Librarian (614-292-3502 and donovan.1 at osu.edu
).

Exhibit: "Happy Birthday, Atom! Celebrating Tezuka's Astro Boy"

Dates:  Now through May 30, 2003
Location:  Cartoon Research Library, 27 West 17th Ave. Mall
Information:   http://www.lib.ohio-state.edu/cgaweb/atom.htm

Lecture:  Natsu Onoda, Northwestern University, "Seeing Astro Boy: The
Cartoonist's Vision, the Medical Gaze, and the Imaging Technology"
Dates:  March 4 (Tuesday) 3:30-4:30pm 
Location:  Room 100, Jennings Hall, 1735 Neil Avenue

Event:  Happy Birthday, Astro Boy!

Date:  April 7 (Monday) 4:00-6:30 pm 
Location:  Wexner Center Theater, 1871 N. High Street 
This event will feature:
* Showing of the 1963 TV show, "The Birth of Astro Boy" (1963) **
* Keynote presentation by Rick Schostek, Vice President, Honda of
America Manufacturing, Inc.
* Showing of video, "Introduction to Honda Humanoid Robotics, featuring
ASIMO"
* Reception (Birthday party!) and exhibit viewing, Cartoon Research
Library, 27 West 17th Ave. Mall (Exhibit will remain open until 6:30 pm)

Astro Boy Video Presentations: "The Hooligan Whodunit," "The Robot
Olympics," and 
      "The Three Robotiers" **
Date: Date: April 11 (Friday), 4:30-6:30pm
Location:  Room 21 Lazenby Hall, 1827 Neil Avenue

Seminar: Approaches to Manga  

Date:  April 14 (Monday), 4:30-6:30pm 
Location:  Room 262, Hopkins Hall, 128 North Oval Mall
*Mineharu Nakayama (DEALL, IJS, OSU) "Overview on Manga: Tezuka, Mighty
Atom, and Technology" 
*Maureen Donovan (Libraries, OSU) "Access to Manga: Limitations of
Categories, Genres, and Chronologies" 
*Charles Quinn (DEALL, OSU) "A manga education in the Showa 50's"
*Chikako Cox (Counseling and Consultation Service, OSU) "Manga and
Psychology" 
*B. Chandrasekaran (CIS/Lab for Artificial Intelligence Research, OSU)
"Current Status of Research in AI:  Why don't we have humanoid robots as
in cartoons?"

Lecture:  Joseph Murphy, University of Florida, "Manga as an Extension
of the Senses"
Date:  April 22 (Tuesday), 4:00-5:30 pm 
Location:  Room 2, Lazenby Hall, 1827 Neil Avenue

Seminar:  Manga and Science  

Date:  April 28 (Monday), 4:30-6:30pm 
Location:  Room 262, Hopkins Hall, 128 North Oval Mall
*Mineharu Nakayama (DEALL, IJS, OSU) "Overview on Manga and Technology"
*Hajime Miyazaki/Masao Ogaki (Economics, OSU) "Cultural Context of Manga
and Robots in Japan"  
*James Bartholomew (History, OSU)  "Science, Society, and Manga" 
*Osamu Fujimura (Speech and Hearing, OSU) "Current Status of Research in
Speech Perception and Production"  

Presentation: "Computer Graphics and Animation"

Midori Kitagawa (Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design, OSU)
and Bruce D. Barnes (Columbus College of Art and Design)
Date: May 2 (Friday), 2-3pm 
Location:  BALE Theatre, 1224 Kinnear Road, OSU West Campus
Directions: www.accad.ohio-state.edu/info/info_directions.htm

Lecture:  Scott McCloud, author of Understanding Comics and Reinventing
Comics
"You Are Here -- Reader Engagement in Japanese Comics"
Date:  May 5 (Monday), 4-6:30 pm 
Location:  Wexner Center Theater, 1871 N. High Street 
Reception and exhibit viewing: 5:00-6:30, Cartoon Research Library, 
27 West 17th Ave. Mall (Exhibit will remain open until 6:30 pm)

Seminar: The Influence of Japanese Manga 

Date:  May 12 (Monday), 4:30-6:30pm 
Location:  Room 262, Hopkins Hall, 128 North Oval Mall
*Richard Torrance (DEALL, OSU) "Outlaw Manga for Children" 
*Judy Andrews (History of Art, EASC, OSU) and Kuiyi Shen (Art, OU)
"Cartoons in China"
*James Marshall Unger (DEALL, OSU) "Manga and Misconceptions of Japanese
Writing System" 
*Noriko Reider (GREAL, Miami U) "Manga and Ogres"

These events are co-sponsored by: Office of International Affairs,
University Libraries, Institute for Japanese Studies, East Asian Studies
Center, Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures, the
Multicultural Center, Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design,
Japanese Student Organization, Japanese Club, Anime Club, Manga Club,
Japan-America Society of Central Ohio.

This schedule and the speakers listed are subject to change.

** Videos on April 7 & 11 are being shown with permission from Right
Stuf International  www.rightstuf.com <http://www.rightstuf.com/>  

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