Takashi Murakami

Takashi Murakami was born in 1962 in Tokyo, Japan. He grew up knowing he wanted to be an artist and pursued his dream by enrolling and obtaining a BFA, MFA, and PhD from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. He studied a nineteenth-century style of art which combines Japanese subjects with European painting methods called Nihonga. Although he studied Nihonga, his real interest was in anime and manga. He was also interested in the Japanese term kawaii which means “cuteness”. He wanted to find a way to integrate these concepts together and because of that drive, he found his “superflat” style.

“Superflat” describes his method of producing his works so that there is no depth or perspective and they seem flat, two-dimensional, and look almost plastic. Murakami has two studios which he calls factories because of how he produces his art. He starts off by sketching his designs and then scanning them into the computer where he adds colors and refines the art. Then it is printed out and dozens of his assistants will silk-screen and paint the art. Although he supervises them, he rarely paints his works himself. In these factories, he produces both fine art and small trinkets. He has been working toward the time when there will be a fine line between high and low art.Murakami’s art pieces are known to be bright and colorful featuring cartoon-like characters that seem shiny and nearly plastic. One of Murakami’s most popular characters is Mr. DOB. Mr. DOB is based on a mouse, containing a round head and big round ears. Murakami has also been commended for his public artwork, particularly at the Rockefeller Center plaza and in the Vanderbilt Hall part of Grand Central Station. At Rockefeller Center in 2003, his Reversed Double Helix piece was displayed. It featured two 33 foot balloons, many colorful mushrooms that also doubled as seats for the public, and a 23 foot sculpture of one of Murakami’s most famous characters, Mr. Pointy. At Vanderbilt Hall in 2001, Wink was displayed. This consisted of many mushroom sculptures and giant balloons decorated with varying sizes and shapes of colorful eyes and spirals floating 30 feet off the floor. In Japan, he “achieved rock-star like status” (Notable Biographies) for his work with Marc Jacobs designing handbags for Louis Vuitton. It became a huge success and bags were sold out even before they were put on shelves. However, this achieved him fame for designing purses rather that works of art, which was not what he wished for. He helps young artists pursue their dreams by supporting and managing them with his company Kaikai Kiki.

Works Cited

Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. Takashi Murakami. 26 October 2008 http://english.kaikaikiki.co.jp/artists/list/C4/.

Notable Biographies. Takashi Murakami Biography. 26 October 2008 http://www.notablebiographies.com/news/Li-Ou/Murakami-Takashi.html.

Images Cited

Curioustribe.com/blog. Congratulations to Takashi Murakami! 24 June 2008. 29 October 2008
http://www.curioustribe.com/blog/2008/06/24/congratulations-to-takashi-murakami/.