putting the j in jjosh

Sunday Maxine and I finally got around to checking out the Murikami exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, and lemme tell you, it was a mind-blower! If you are in the area (it’s on until July something) you gotta see this. It would probably make a great field trip too, ‘cuz it seems very kid-friendly (umm, except for the weird, blatantly sexual ones like Hiropan).

But most of the art is simply great — from canvases with layers of paint meticulously sanded down, to weird anime-style plastic figures, to installation-style rooms full of eye-popping imagery, the exhibit is stimulating on many levels. We didn’t get to see his short films in the little theater area because the line was too massive, but then in the elevator on the way out we heard a couple of guys talking about how the films really weren’t worth the line. Nice.

In among all his smiling flowers and cute characters, he also had a series of canvases that have things like death skulls with rings of flowers for eyes (above, titled "time bokun missing"; below, titled "time bokun black"), or psychedelic-style caricatures of famous buddhist monks. It’s the kind of art that really gets me going, and I was pretty excited that Maxine was into it as well.

There’s also a whole side to his art that has to do with blending art and commerce (the exhibit is really called ©Murakami). For example, Murakami was brought on by Marc Jacobs to do a specially designed Louis Vitton bag and design print that’s apparently been a huge sensation, so they had a Louis Vitton store as one of the art installations in the middle of the museum. Weird, mind-bendy, but somehow cool.

From digging around online I found this sort-of promotion animation he did a couple of years ago for his Louis Vitton design. It’s called "Superflat Monogram," the concept of Superflat being a central tenet of Murakami’s work. Some decry this little film as a 5 minute commercial for LV, but I think it’s kind of playful, lyrical and beautiful too. It’s on youtube, but I dug up a hi-rez version of it for you ‘cuz low-rez Murakami is weak!

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