Takashi Murakami: Otaku and the Superflat Movement
Chris Radley (458656)
Superflat
Graphic Design BA(Hons): Part Time CCS200 ● 1800 Word Essay January 2010
“Any engagement with Murakami’s catalogues more profound than a rapid skim is liable to leave the Western art consumer (at least one old enough to be unaffected by the current Western youth fad for all things otaku) floundering in a sea of unfamiliar signifiers, feeling hooked, intrigued yet vaguely ill-at-ease, not unlike Bill Murray’s character in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003).”[1] - Dick Hebdige
In this essay I will be looking at Japanese visual artist Takashi Murakami and examining the ways in which his practice is informed by the context in which his work is created. Context is defined as the social, political and/or cultural environment in which something exists or occurs. If something is removed from its original context and places into another context then its meaning, or reason for existing, will change.
Takashi Murakami is credited with founding with Superflat movement, which is a sub-culture of pop art. He began his career studying Nihon-ga (traditional Japanese art) at Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, but became increasingly disillusioned with the artform and sought to pursue art that was more representative of modern day Japanese life. This longing caused him to become passionate about otaku culture, believing it reflected society as it currently is – consumerist and with a fascination for all things small. His work is affected by context in a number of different ways. His work is both mainly for and about otaku culture, so those unfamiliar with it may not completely understand it. Equally with those unfamiliar with Japanese culture on the whole. His way of working also seems quite commercial to westerners, who may consider his line of products ‘selling out’, but the Japanese accept that art and accompanying products will blend together, much like watching a movie, then going out to buy movie memorabilia.
Superflat
Graphic Design BA(Hons): Part Time CCS200 ● 1800 Word Essay January 2010
“Any engagement with Murakami’s catalogues more profound than a rapid skim is liable to leave the Western art consumer (at least one old enough to be unaffected by the current Western youth fad for all things otaku) floundering in a sea of unfamiliar signifiers, feeling hooked, intrigued yet vaguely ill-at-ease, not unlike Bill Murray’s character in Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation (2003).”[1] - Dick Hebdige
In this essay I will be looking at Japanese visual artist Takashi Murakami and examining the ways in which his practice is informed by the context in which his work is created. Context is defined as the social, political and/or cultural environment in which something exists or occurs. If something is removed from its original context and places into another context then its meaning, or reason for existing, will change.
Takashi Murakami is credited with founding with Superflat movement, which is a sub-culture of pop art. He began his career studying Nihon-ga (traditional Japanese art) at Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music, but became increasingly disillusioned with the artform and sought to pursue art that was more representative of modern day Japanese life. This longing caused him to become passionate about otaku culture, believing it reflected society as it currently is – consumerist and with a fascination for all things small. His work is affected by context in a number of different ways. His work is both mainly for and about otaku culture, so those unfamiliar with it may not completely understand it. Equally with those unfamiliar with Japanese culture on the whole. His way of working also seems quite commercial to westerners, who may consider his line of products ‘selling out’, but the Japanese accept that art and accompanying products will blend together, much like watching a movie, then going out to buy movie memorabilia.
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