Takashi Murakami
Japanese Contemporary Artist
Avory Guy France
Digital Artist Inspiration Project
Advanced Digital Arts
Fall Semester 2017
Birth Place:
Takashi Murakami was born February 1st, 1962 in Tokyo, Japan.
Takashi is a Japanese contemporary artist.
From early on, he was a fan of anime and manga (Japanese comics), and hoped to work in the animation industry
Education Background:
Takashi Murakami attended Tokyo University of the Arts to acquire the drafting skills necessary to become an animator. He then became sidetracked and turned his focus to the highly traditional Japanese artform for Nihonga and decided to major in it. Takashi quickly grew tired of Nihonga and began experimenting in more contemporary imagery and media. He earned his Ph.D in Nihonga but still continued to explore.
Traditional Japanese Art
Japanese art covers a wide range of art styles and media, including ancient pottery, sculpture, ink painting and calligraphy on silk and paper, and woodblock prints, kirigami, origami, dorodango, and more recently manga—modern Japanese cartooning and comics—along with a myriad of other types of works of art. It has a long history, ranging from the beginnings of human habitation in Japan, sometime in the 10th millennium BC, to the present.
Type of Art the Artist Creates:
Takashi Murakami is well known for contemporary pop synthesis of fine art and pop culture and us of boldly graphic, colorful anime, and manga cartoon style.
Type of Art the Artist Creates:
Takashi became famous in the 1990s for his “Superflat” theory which linked the origins of contemporary Japanese visual culture to historical Japanese art. “Superflat” theory shows that there is a legacy of flat, 2 dimensional imagery from Japanese art history in manga and anime. This style differentiates itself from the Western approach in its emphasis on surface and use of flat planes of color. His creations includes paintings, sculptures, drawings, and animations.
Japan in the early 1990`s did not demonstrate a high level of innovation. Murakami responded to this lack of nationalism, and early works of his are satirical and critical of World War II Japanese culture.
Around this time he began developing some of his most well-known characters
Type of Art the Artist Creates:
Mr. Dob is one of Murakami's first and longest living character.
He wanted to produce something that would stand the test of time and change the course of contemporary art production in Japan through the introduction of a more genuinely Japanese style and subject matter.
He was made many forms and styles of Mr. Dob
Type of Art the Artist Creates:
In 2007, Murakami provided the cover artwork for the rapper Kanye West's album Graduation.
Type of Art the Artist Creates:
In 2009, music producer Pharrell Williams unveiled a collaborative sculpture with Murakami at Art Basel
Since 2002 Takashi Murakami has been involved with fashion brands, musicians, and toy manufacturers.
Exhibitions:
Since 1989 he has had 26 art exhibitions up to 2017
These exhibitions have been all over the world
Why we should know about this artist:
I choose this artist because he`s bold and risk taking. His art style is unique and eye catching. Like in the how the video related him to “The Octopus Eats its Own Leg” He's not afraid to try new things.
“In the West, it certainly is dangerous to blend the two because people throw all sorts of stones. But that's okay - I'm ready with my hard hat”