This past Sunday, or yesterday I should say, I had the chance to visit Takashi Murakami's exhibition The Octopus Eats It's Own Leg at the MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago). Murakami is a Japanese painter most famously known for his collaborations with Kanye West, Louis Vuitton, and his playful and colorful characters. Murakami successfully smashes the boundaries between high and low art, ancient and modern, & East and West in his work.
I truly found this exhibition thought-provoking and inspiring They had an info video on play before you enter the Gallery, which me and my boyfriend sat and watched for about 12 minutes. Murakami explained his his start, his creative process, his inspiration, and more.
The most interesting thing I took from it was his interest in blurring the lines between high and low art. He brought up the fact that in Japan, the comic book artist is regarded as the top ranked. Where as in the West, painters, and sculptures (Likely Middle aged white men, like everything else) are regarded as the head honchos. Murakami has successfully become one of the most highly regarded creators of or age, and he uses manga like images to do so. I find that to be quite inspiring, and beautiful. Especially, if you're an art student, you know manga/anime and comic book style is rarely regarded with respect, let alone as high art.
Learning and respecting perspective has been one of the biggest goals in my life lately. The ideas behind Murakami's work definitely have a lot to do with perspective, and I found that particularly compelling. Overall a wondrous exhibit, and I'm glad I got to witness it.
What do you think of Takashi Murakami's work?