Gothamist: Murakami at Rockefeller Center

Michel S

Thu, 25 Dec 2003 22:16:46 -0500

Interesting comments here on Murakami. It is worth noting that he is handled in Japan by the outward looking gallerist Tomio Koyama, whose target has always been the American market. I agree that Murakami does play the "exotic Asian" card, but that is what gets you in with Americans, no? How else to explain Mariko Mori and Yoshitomo Nara? I think the ideas behind Murakami's work are weak, but they are wrapped up nicely -- form over content.

Lawrence Northey

Wed, 24 Dec 2003 13:44:38 -0500

Here's the thing; Murakami is a lot like Klatu stepping off from the UFO platform in, "The Day the Earth Stood Still". Surrounded by suspicion and an omnipresent state of fear and apprehension, he presents a gift to the American people and is naturally shot for his efforts. This film was made fifty years ago and yet intolerance continues to reign supreme. Murakami's work is refreshingly different and I for one cannot get enough of it. Users emails suggesting he's a huckster etc. I think are missing the bigger picture, in fact it's a lot like hearing those long-winded explanations on the relevence of "Porky Pig in American Culture" so popular at UCLA. Having said that, some would say that the role of art in society is to create discussion and this fellow's work has certainly achieved that.

Charlie

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 15:56:48 -0500

Interesting that the majority of people here proclaiming how lackluster or derivative Murakami's Rockefeller show is display an inordinate lack of knowledge regarding his motivations or interests. Also, if Paul McCarthy has praise for Murakami I think you naysayers should go home and study a little bit more or at least think about what you really mean. Its boring and de rigeur for a group of New Yorker's to lambast someone for doing an excellent job. I'm all for a critical commentary but let's try to do it with some knowledge not just emotion. Simply put: Don't be a hater!

RealityCheckyouDumbass

Fri, 10 Oct 2003 16:15:14 -0500

For those bitching Murakami, don't hate what you don't understand. Seriously. Shut up. See the show. Get a life.

RealityCheckyouDumbass

Fri, 10 Oct 2003 16:13:19 -0500

Seriously. Shut up. See the show. Get a life.

target

Tue, 30 Sep 2003 13:53:13 -0500

guys...take it easy yeah?? h zoh eine orea, para mono an to thes esy!

Inside-Out Girl

Mon, 29 Sep 2003 04:11:34 -0500

Dang, what's with all the cat fighting?... Murakami's work isn't remarkably complex... it addresses certain issues about a culture (otaku) , that he feels somehow connected to. Pretty simple. It's true... he displays his art in NY because he knows he can make money here... but common now!!! Artists and designers (me being one of them) would all gladly accept a nice fat paycheck and I don't want to hear that they wouldn't!!! I'm not saying that all artists do it for the money... but if they CAN make money, then more power to them! It only gets bad when the artists start to get greedy and jaded, which I don't think Murakami is... his work doesn't really take either side, good or bad, it is more of a neutral representation of what he sees. At a time where people care less and less about art in the first place, it's nice to at least see something fresh. Sure, anime has been around forever, but it takes that extra step to take an existing entity and change its context to convey a new layer of meaning. In that way, I find his work successful.

ghitan

Sat, 27 Sep 2003 16:09:51 -0500

you either love it or detest it. but one thing is clear: you artists and critics say describe murakami's work as "recycled" and "unimaginative", yet people seem to be attracted to it nonetheless. you say it's elementary and that anyone, even sanrio, can reproduce his work, but guess what? you didn't. bitch, bitch, bitch all you want and deal with it. ^_^

Garlock

Sat, 27 Sep 2003 02:46:33 -0500

wow

JonQ

Sun, 14 Sep 2003 21:22:25 -0500

"his commercial prowess as genius." Ah, now that I will agree with. I also agree with you that he is 'over.' As for anger, I don't know what you're reading into my comments, a strong opinion doesn't equal foaming at the mouth anger. Lighten up dude, it's just a comment thread. ;^)

Sun, 14 Sep 2003 21:22:04 -0500

larry dvm

Thu, 11 Sep 2003 15:39:52 -0500

I think I was making the point that the social commentary is, as you put it, obvious. I referred to his commercial prowess as genius. In fact, I later insinuated that he is "over." Also, I feel like I want to help you work on that anger. What's the big deal?

JonQ

Wed, 10 Sep 2003 14:59:26 -0500

"he might not just be "playing to" expectations, but also mocking and deriding them?" Making that assumption is giving him a lot of credit that I can find no prior evidence to support. That's like saying, "hey, the banzai show on fox is making fun of japanese game shows, how subversive and intelligent of them to comment on this by parodying it, exaggerating it, and then selling it back to us. SOCIAL COMMENTARY GENIUS!" You post proves that when someone has drunk the kool-aid, they'll go to any lengths to intellectually justify obvious crap.

larry dvm

Tue, 09 Sep 2003 17:44:19 -0500

Um . . . did it cross anyone's mind that by playing into western/American (nice totalizing culture concept, run with that) perceptions of Japanese popular culture, while also perverting them (and visualizing their built-in perversions) he might not just be "playing to" expectations, but also mocking and deriding them? I think it's genius, that he gets to cash in on those who don't catch the joke, as well as those who do. Insider/outsider/insider/outsider/etc. Good craic. Also, Murakami is far from new. And I mean f--a--a--a--a--r. He was in the Venice Biennale almost 10 years ago. So I don't think he's trying to "make a splash" in the NYC art scene (before he gets busted as a young imposter!). From such a veteran, the likeliest accusation is not fraud but conservativism.

cryingboy

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 19:52:17 -0500

"I do make a distinction which I think we have lost. The difference is that art must move you, design need not." -David Hockney

Maniak

Fri, 05 Sep 2003 07:05:53 -0500

Isn't it nice to see all the pros and cons on art. I saw the exhibition last year in Paris and I wasn't "bamboozled" because some guys in my school were doing the same things, making Gundam-style robots, using japanese icons in western-art, blah blah. But all in all the show is quite good when you see the sculptures texture or the paintings colors it is impressive. Just go check it out, you'll have a nice time. PeACE

calavera

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 17:21:33 -0500

but the mushrooms have teeth! big f*ckoff shiny ones! you know what they say, guns for show, teeth for a pro.

hoofin

Sun, 31 Aug 2003 02:11:25 -0500

The little guy up front reminds me of the Stay-Puft marshmellow man from Ghostbusters. Maybe with all that North Korea stuff, and the deindustrialization of Japan continuing unabated, the "answer" of the art world is to create the most harmless creatures anyone could imagine---to ward off thoughts of permanent economic decline, repeated horrors of war.

Sumitomo

Fri, 29 Aug 2003 13:38:31 -0500

yeah, like a good shot of diarrhea.

moshi

Fri, 29 Aug 2003 00:03:38 -0500

...Im so happy to see that Tak is doing a huge display....I caught a smaller exhibit in Boston.He also was on hand to speak...Im soO glad that his art is Shaking up the "Art"/"Fashionsita" of New York!

robb

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 17:47:30 -0500

Murakami has obviously hit a nerve. For some, his work may seem like childish anime subversion, however, his exhibit in Chelsea that corresponded with the LV bags was actually quite excellent. There was a video there that was superb (in fact might have been one of the greatest advert/ art crossovers ever)....all in all at least he is not Jeff Koons. Have you seen most of the crap they display in rock center anyway..this can't be all bad

andrew

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:36:06 -0500

his stuff is, at the least, always fun to look at. "This guy is just exploiting the Mystical Asian stereotype." what? the stereotype where asians make pop art based on anime? mystical cause he had the shinto priest? i thought the stereotype was we just did kung fu.

Kristen

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 23:48:50 -0500

I worship Murakami... there's a producer at Warners who has a massive painting of this little demonic girl. Everytime I go to a meeting I just stare at it and don't hear a thing he says (ala the teacher in Charlie Brown)

bahamut

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 17:35:17 -0500

anime is pop culture >in america. thanks, i know. theres no need to make assumptions...i actually know quite a bit more about warhol than the average art lover. love him or loathe him, i'll be at rockefeller center september 9th.

Besame

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 17:07:15 -0500

bahamut said, "...reappropriating something mundane and common (as anime really is) and making it pop culture" Eh hem, no my friend, anime 'already is' pop culture. Which is exactly why Murakami's work is unimaginative, and completely derivative. He's not recontextualizing 'anything', he's just copying what's already out there in pop culture and cashing in because he's japanese. Believe, I know, dozens of American artists have been doing this kind of anime influenced art/sculpture for a few years, but when 'they' do it, people write it off as "japan fan boy/girl copies anime style." Wake up, this is exactly the hustle that Murakami has pulled off. And don't dare ever compare him to Warhol, that's just funny/ridiculous/shows how little you know about Warhol.

bahamut

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 16:48:57 -0500

lets ignore for the time being that i dont see many eyeballed mushrooms in japanese pop culture these days, and we'll refer specifically to his ko2 exhibition. if you cant find the humor and subversive nature of his stylized work, then thats too bad. i havent been "bamboozled" (great word). i just appreciate anime and its art forms beyond what is usually ascribed to it. the association with warhol is pretty apt, reappropriating something mundane and common (as anime really is) and making it pop culture.

eli

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 15:42:13 -0500

You seem to have misread my post. Murakami's representation of Japanese culture is intellectually sanitary. The whole "perceived Japanese blah blah blah" is a canard... You're admitting you've been bamboozled, just using more words. He's taking perceived Japanese icons and feeding them back to westerners, who lap them up and at the same time create more 'perceived icons'. It's a completely empty, inane, cycle. The joke is on us.

Sam

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 15:13:24 -0500

This guys shit bores me to tears at this point. I don't get the fascination that's lasted this long. I wonder if all the japanese kids who worked on the sculptures got paid.

bahamut

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 15:02:41 -0500

"Something about the way this guy exploits a westernized, sanitary version of 'Japanese Culture' really bugs me..." sanitized...are you kidding me? have you even seen his work in person? so murakami identifies perceived japanese iconography and plays off of that as a foundation...what he does from there is his choice. while the article hypes him up a little too grandiose, he is still influential nonetheless.

nert

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:17:34 -0500

hanging shit on dj spooky used to be one of my favorite pasttimes, but really, he's pretty much gone and buried now. (I am considering starting in on bjork -- her stadium-rave coney island thing gave me bad flashbacks to prodigy/underworld... blreghhhhtt)

eli

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:07:07 -0500

Four years according to the times article... It speaks loads that his work isn't popular in Japan but is popular here. Probably because in Japan you see work like his all over the place; talk of 'Japanese icons' only impresses NYT art critics who have never been there. Something about the way this guy exploits a westernized, sanitary version of 'Japanese Culture' really bugs me. It makes it hard to see his art on a rational level. It seems like he's trying so hard to show westerners what they really want to see... Ride with the Devil is a great movie. The Missouri accents, humor, and attitude were spot on. Totally underrated though.

nert

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:06:20 -0500

once again, calvera clarifies his/her (boringly standard) position on popular art and culture, and wants us all to feel the same way. murakami is the peter max of today. fun and great and all, but let's not get carried away.

JonQ

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 14:03:20 -0500

"The first paragraph in the Times article makes clear that Murakami is less interested in art than grandstanding." Exactly. Basically, if this guy wasn't asian himself, everyone would be throwing tomatoes at him calling his stuff derivative, manga copying, drivel. But because he's japanese and has an advanced degree, he can bullsh-t his way through the art world as if what he's doing is somehow profound, or new. His stuff blows. Reminds me of yet another poseur who uses his 'cultural authenticity' to hoodwink the art/creative community: dj spooky. "Watch as I pull $15 words out of my ass to exalt sampling and explain to you why my very unlistenable CDs are deep and more intellectually relevant than other people who merely 'sample.' For I SAMPLE." Geez, at least Warhol actually contributed some new paradigms along with his hype, these guys are just hustlers.

nert

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:54:21 -0500

calvera, what don't you like dude?

calavera

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:46:45 -0500

murakami has been making a splash for a while so i'd be surprised if his '15 minutes' ends soon. plus he's been using icons and ideas that the west associates with the east (more specifically japanese icons and ideas if you really want to try to discuss this) since he started. have you seen his anime series statues? I'm hardly surprised by his recent adaptations, and I'm quite looking forward to the opening, regardless of how the american press hypes it.

eebmore

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:37:57 -0500

Not so much about the post, but on Ang Lee, What was your opinion of Ride with the Devil? It amazed me. I've never seen such a humanistic take on the Civil War. I guess I'm posting this because I can't seem to convince anyone to see that movie and have, as of yet, been unable to discuss it with anyone.

eli

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:25:32 -0500

Ah look, eastern artist make big sprash wif very ancient, very mystical shinto and wacky Otaku curture! This guy is just exploiting the Mystical Asian stereotype. Next week his 15 minutes will be over, the Mystical Asian will be back in the box (recycled in a few years) and they'll bring back the Noble Savage stereotype.

eli

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 13:01:45 -0500

the unfashionable part of Williamsburg in Brooklyn Where exactly would that be I wonder? The first paragraph in the Times article makes clear that Murakami is less interested in art than grandstanding. I'd like to see what the designers at Sanrio think about his work.

Jen

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 12:51:52 -0500

Comical, yet fitting. Ang Lee does Buddhist/Chinese Good Luck ceremonies before all his films, including The Ice Storm, Ride With the Devil, Sense and Sensibility...

Brendan

Wed, 27 Aug 2003 12:45:17 -0500

Does anyone else find the idea of a Shinto priest "ritually blessing" a massive pop art installation sort of comical?