TAKASHI MURAKAMI - SUPERFLAT
MURAKAMI, T.
Murakami's "Superflat" is an essay (in both visual and verbal terms) in which he ties current, commercially viable art production (manga, anime, and Neo Pop) to its roots in the late Edo period paintings of artists like Ito Jakuchu and Katsushika Hokusai. He espouses the aesthetic similarities (the interest in decoration and the emphasis on the flatness of the picture plane) as well as the commercial similarities (these earlier artists were print makers and produced large runs of their work for sale to the general public).
This blurring of the boundaries between high and low art is a hot-button topic in art historical circles today, both in Japan and the West. With this exhibition catalogue Murakami has created a statement as strong as the body of work created by his Western contemporaries, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.
This is a fine catalogue that creates fascinating links between the past and present in Japanese artistic production. A must for anyone looking to challenge their preconcieved notions of what Art's place is in today's thoroughly globalized and capitalist world.
