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Adams’ particular definition of the psychoanalytic method of
researching art history resonates with my own working processes,
particularly applied to this thesis. Although the major topic of this study is
not art, as such, my approach to the examination of the Japanese Lolita
subculture begins and essentially deals with a reading of images. While
Analytic Art Theory might perhaps be a better term, “psycho-”, pertaining
to the Psychological, and “analytic” are the two major adjectives to describe
my methods. My theories on this movement are formulated by reading the
iconography of Gothic & Lolita (G&L) and the Lolita herself (the symbols),
gaining meaning through semiotics (the signs, what the symbols signify, or
infer), and then analysing the psychology behind the signifiers. It is through
evidence to support my readings and analyses that I return to the label of
theorist, by definition of the term “theory” as “a scheme or system of ideas
or statements held as an explanation or account of a group of facts or
phenomena”. 4 This evidence I obtain through adopting the following
methods of information retrieval.
Literature Review
The formal literature I survey in relation to this thesis has been elaborated
on in the previous section, Literature Review. However, as stated therein, I use
other types of methods for gathering support material.
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