Background
Takashi Murakami was born on February 1, 1962 in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan.
Tokyo University of the Arts
Takashi Murakami was born on February 1, 1962 in Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan.
Takashi studied at Tokyo University of the Arts, where he received Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1986, Master of Fine Arts degree in 1988 and Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1993.
In 1996, Takashi founded the Hiropon factory in Tokyo, which later evolved into Kaikai Kiki Co., an art production and art management corporation. In addition to the production and marketing of Murakami's art and related work, Kaikai Kiki functions as a supportive environment for the fostering of emerging artists.
In 2000, Murakami published his "Superflat" theory in the catalogue for a group exhibition of the same name, that he curated for the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles. The theory states, that there is a legacy of flat, 2-dimensional imagery from Japanese art history in manga and anime. The theory provided the context for his work and he elaborated on it with the exhibitions "Coloriage" (2002) and "Little Boy: The Arts of Japan’s Exploding Subculture" (2005).
In 2002, the artist started to collaborate with the fashion brand Louis Vuitton. Initially, he contributed artwork, which was used in the design of a series of handbags. The series re-envisioned the company’s monogram and was a huge commercial success. Though, Takashi had previously collaborated with fashion designers, such as Issey Miyake Men by Naoki Takizawa, his work with Louis Vuitton made him widely known for blurring the line between "high art" and commercialism. It also made him famous in his home country of Japan.
In 2007, Takashi created the cover artwork for rapper Kanye West’s album Graduation and directed an animated music video for West’s song "Good Morning". He also provided cover artwork for West's 2018 collaboration album "Kids See Ghosts" with Kid Cudi.
In February 2012, Murakami opened an exhibition in Doha, Qatar. Titled "Murakami-Ego", this showed around 60 old works alongside new ones, designed especially for the exhibition. In May 2014, with Pharrell and Kz of Livetune, Murakami created a music video for the remix of the Hatsune Miku song "Last Night, Good Night". In April 2013, Murakami released his first feature film "Jellyfish Eyes" in theaters across Japan.
Currently, Takashi Murakami divides his time between Tokyo and New York.
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An Homage to IKB 1957
Tan Tan Bo
An Homage to Monopink 1960
Eye Love Superflat (Black)
I Know Not. I Know.
Me And Double - DOB
Open Your Hands Wide, Embrace Happiness
Mr. DOB All Stars (Oh My The Mr. DOB)
Kaikai Kiki News
Jellyfish Eyes
!N-Cha!
Mr. Rainbow DOB
Louis Vuitton Monogram Multicolore (White)
Mushroom Youkai
Posi Mushroom
Blackbeard
Flowers in Heaven
Minyun
Superflat my first love flowers
Jellyfish Eyes: Black 4
Army of Mushrooms
Poke!
Flowers
Chaos
Kansei Korin Gold
I Recall The Time When My Feet Lifted Off The Ground, Ever So Slightly. – Kôrin – Chrysanthemum
Quotations:
"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"."
"My own belief is that rather than getting involved in trying to change the reality of social-political things, creators can be involved in and express in different ways and be meaningful in different ways, so for me, it's important to leave messages to people of the future and to be engaged with the people now."
"When I was making my debut as an artist, I felt that it was very important that I try to combine the background of my own culture, my people, and the country into the contemporary art world. So that's how I came up with the term "superflat"."
"Every day, I have new ideas. It makes my brain tired, so I spend time taking care of company quality, finding new artists, and taking care of the young artists."