Takashi Murakami

If there's one thing that has always irked me about the art world, its that certain elements seem set on making it an exclusive, inaccessible thing with a clear line drawn between pop art for the plebs, and high art for some group of well-educated elites. I've always felt that art should be for everyone, and that's a mentality that Takashi Murakami also has.

I only recently became aware of his work after watching a Fantastic Plastic Machine video (Different Colors). The vibrant colors in the video, the strange creature that the girl in it meets, and the world it takes her to peaked my curiosity, and I just had to know who made this video. After a few quick Google searches I had my answer, and was introduced to the colorful, "superflat" world of Mr. Murakami.

By and large, what appeals to me the most about his work is the use of color, and the carefree, happy undertones in a lot of his work. The otherworldly, yet approachable characters he creates, and the strange, yet intriguing worlds the live in make me want to start at his prints for hours.

As I mentioned earlier, Murakami likes to make his art accessible to as many people as possible. Throughout his career he has strived to blur the line between high and low art. One of his most recent examples of this is the work that he has been doing of late with various companies ranging from bubble gum, to figurines, to even working with Louis Vuitton. While some may cry bloody murder over taking a commercial route with one's art, what it boils down to is that Murakami's work has become incredibly accessible to all walks of life as a result. In an interview a couple of years ago he had this to say on the matter:

You’ve done work with Louis Vuitton and others that straddles the line between art and commercial products. Do you think there are dangers to mixing art with branding and merchandizing?

I don’t think of it as straddling. I think of it as changing the line. What I’ve been talking about for years is how in Japan, that line is less defined. Both by the culture and by the past-War economic situation. Japanese people accept that art and commerce will be blended; and in fact, they are surprised by the rigid and pretentious Western hierarchy of “high art.” In the West, it certainly is dangerous to blend the two because people will throw all sorts of stones. But that’s okay—I’m ready with my hard hat.

Takashi Murakami has gotten me interested in a a very colorful, engaging style of art that very much appeals to me. Since coming across his work, I've also started to look more into other artists who have delved into the Superflat style such as Chiho Aoshima and Yoshitomo Nara, but more on them another time. Before signing off, here is the video he did for Fantastic Plastic Machine: