Takashi Murakami

Watching the movie on Crumb reminded me of Takashi Murakami, a Japanese artist that has some rather perverted work.  Not all of Murakami’s work is perverted but two statues he made came to my mind while viewing some of Crumb’s cartoons.  Takashi Murakami’s work can’t be pinned down to any specific media. He has done paintings, sculptures, large inflatable balloons, performance art, and even done some work for Louis Vuitton in the fashion industry. One thing that is pretty consistent in his work however, is that he likes to fuse both “high” and “low” art together in his works which has led some to compare him to Andy Warhol.

            Murakami is also heavily influenced by the anime and manga culture of Japan which is evident from any of his works. He likes the anime/manga style because he believes it is a good reflection of modern day Japan. He has a signature character that is named Mr. DOB that often reappears in his works and this character is so popular it has even been made into t-shirts, cell phone straps, and various other goods. I found this quote by Murakami about what the driving force behind his works, “To become a living example of the potential of art.” Murakami now has his own company called Kaikai Kiki which is an organization of artists that produce art in a variety of fields. Kaikai Kiki has offices in both Japan and the US and the two offices work opposite hours making Kaikai Kiki a company that’s always open.