Skulls and Flowers Red
2013
Takashi Murakami (s 1962) on tunnustatud Jaapani kunstnik, kes kasutab oma loomingus popkultuuri, Jaapani traditsioonilist nihonga-maali ja animet. Murakami signatuurstiil on erksate värvide ja kahemõõtmelisuse kasutamine, tema esteetika on tuntud kui “superflat”. Tema kuulsate tegelaste hulka kuuluvad nii naeratavad lilled kui ka Mr. DOB, kes on inspireeritud Miki Hiirest. Murakami on ka Kaikai Kiki Co firma asutaja, mis tegeleb Tokyos kunsti loomise ja kunstnike esindamisega. Kunstnik on teinud paljudega koostööd, näiteks on ta kujundanud Kanye Westi 2007. aasta albumi “Graduation”, tema loomingut leiab Vansi ja Crocsi jalanõudelt ning Louis Vuittoni kottidelt. Murakami looming hägustab piiri nö kõrge ja madala kunsti vahel. Murakami 1990. aastate loomingu olulisust on võimalik võrrelda 1960. aastate Andy Warholi ja Roy Lichtensteini omaga, sest see muutus märgiliseks ja kandus kunstimaailmast väljapoole. Vaatamata sellele, et lilled naeratavad võib neid siduda allasurutud emotsioonidega, mis tulenevad rahvuslikust traumast, mis on põhjustatud Hiroshima ja Nagasaki 1945. aastal aatompommidega hävitamisest. Seega esmapilgul naeratavate lillede õnnelik maailm võib selles kontekstis pakkuda valusa teema tõstatamist ja mingil määral ka tervenemist.
Takashi Murakami (b 1962) is a renowned Japanese artist who uses pop culture, traditional Japanese painting nihonga and anime in his art. Murakami has a signature style that is colourful and two-dimensional, it is described as a “superflat” aesthetic. His famous characters include the smiling flower and Mr. DOB, who is a Mickey Mouse inspired character. He is also a founder of Kaikai Kiki Co, an art production and artist management company, in Tokyo. The artist has collaborated with many, for example he has designed the Kanye West 2007 album “Graduation”, his creations can be found on Vans and Crocs footwear and Louis Vuitton bags. When it comes to Murakami's artworks, they blur the line between high and low art. Murakami's artworks from the 1990s can be compared to the artworks of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein in the 1960s, because the work became significant and expanded further than the art world. Even though the flowers are smiling it can also be associated with the repressed emotions because of the national trauma caused by Hiroshima and Nagasaki being destroyed with the use of atom bombs in 1945. Therefore, the seemingly happy world of smiling flowers can offer raising the painful topic and some kind of healing if interpreted in this context.
