Takashi Murakami

For our second seminar, we were told to watch a video concerning the work of a Japanese artist, Takashi Murakami. Little did I know that I would be blown away by such talent.

My first impression from the robots, smiling flowers and jelly eyes were that he had an obsession with anime or mange, or maybe he was expressing that obsession which greatly exists in Japan.

Later, I found out that his works are actually a critique of Japan's culture or consumer society. What he hopes is that manga and anime will eventually merge into a form of art, rather than just being solely for commercial purposes. Although this is his intention as an artist, Murakami's work can be seen displayed in stores for sale. So should we term him as a designer, and not an artist, or does he fall into both categories? In my opinion, he is both an artist and a designer. Criticising Japan's child like culture, and creating toys for the art world is a form of self-expression, which makes him an artist. On the other hand, Murakami is also in the commercial world by working with Louis Vuitton. Either way, he has definitely made me more interested in this topic, and I hope to find out more about the super flat theory, which would probably make me understand his work clearly.

www.veoh.com/browse/videos/category/educational/watch/v15888199rGxzXSBK