Art and news about the Superflat movement. Artists like Takashi Murakami, Chiho Aoshima, Mahomi Kunikata, Yoshitomo Nara, Aya Takano, Koji Morimoto, Hitoshi Tomizawa, Henmaru Machino and many others from Kaikai Kiki Co. and Studio 4°C workshops.
As founder and most prominent member of the Superflat movement, Takashi Murakami has had more written about him than any ay of the other artists. Here is a collection of them.
UK TV presenter, film buff and Japan fanatic Jonathan Ross interviewing Takashi.
The only thing that Miyazaki was “different” from us was that he videotaped dead bodies of little girls he killed. There is a deadly competition among otaku. I guess Miyazaki was a loser because he lacked the critical ability of accumulating enormous information in order to survive and win at a debate among otaku. His collection of otaku goods was not so great, either. The primary reason that I want to represent otaku culture comes from the public ignorance of otaku; most people dislike otaku because they have no access to information on otaku. I am one of the losers who failed to become an otaku king. Only a person who has a superb memory in order to win at a debate can become a king of otaku. Since I didn’t have that ability, I became an artist.
Artnet has an article about Takashi Murakami and his 2005 book, The Art of Entrepreneurship Theory.
So what is Murakami’s secret? First, he explains, he worked out the place of contemporary subcultures -- such as manga, animated films and video games -- in Japanese art history. Then he contexualized this unique Japanese culture system with respect to Western art history. In this manner, Murakami, who has a Ph.D in traditional Japanese painting from the prestigious Tokyo National Museum of Fine Arts and Music, was able to present contemporary Japan to Western viewers in a way that was new, critical and attractive -- the perfect formula for the Western avant-garde art market. The fact that his work has sold for $1 million at auction is evidence that he pulled this off successfully.
Murakami, who's been compared to Koons, Warhol, and even Walt Disney, has used the West to pry open the East, calling Japan "culturally impotent." His work fetishizes Japan's culture of cuteness in an effort to expose it. Everything is based on his concept of " Superflat," which is driven by a mere interplay of surfaces. Murakami's depictions display no depth, not even effects of perspective. Instead, he piles up more and more new comic characters on his canvases and wall paintings until the pictures seem to explode. In doing so, Murakami proves himself to be a true member of Japanese "Otaku" culture, in which mainly adolescents realize a manic fetishism and obsessive supportiveness as fans of comic and SF-culture in buying as many merchandising products of their particular heroes as possible.
there is a lot of visual information, with the colorful, complicated forms, as well as details that are enjoyed up close. When Takashi Murakami arrived, he spent some time inspecting the artworks, and told us that he needed to come back and fix some areas. Gothamist was most amused when more than a few blonde women went up to take pictures with him; we're pretty sure it's all because of the Louis Vuitton collection.
A number of themes seem to drive Murakami. The first is that he comes from a poor background and he says that this has made him want to earn money. In one interview he said he created the Hiropon Factory (a concept based on Warhol's factory) because 'it originates from the marketing reality of having a 0% share of the art market.' However he has also said that he doesn't think his products have long-term commerical viabilty in Japan. 'I wanted to be commercially successful. I just wanted to make a living in the “entertainment” world. What I have done so far was to make a living. And I was highly strategic about what kind of paintings I should make for that purpose.'
Assembly Language, an English Language website on Tokoyo Avant Garde has short piece.
DOB was an exceedingly clever invention, as he gave Murakami an alter ego with which to tap into and comment on Japanese society. When DOB began scowling, his empty smile replaced with a row of jagged teeth, did this mean to indicate that there was a violent undercurrent to Japan's culture of cuteness? Likewise, when DOB appeared in multi-eyed and mouthed mutations, what did these increasingly chaotic incarnations portend? Several years ago Murakami started painting DOB squished-out, as if by a computer graphics steamroller, and from this was born "Superflat," a buzzword that now anchors a hip new art movement supported by the growing team of Murakami assistants.
This blog will feature the art and news about the Superflat movement. Artists like Takashi Murakami, Chiho Aoshima, Mahomi Kunikata, Yoshitomo Nara, Aya Takano, Koji Morimoto, Hitoshi Tomizawa, Henmaru Machino and many others from Kaikai Kiki Co. and Studio 4°C workshops.
