The Sun King of Pop Art
September 11, 2010 7:00 AM Subscribe
Takashi "Hentai statue sold for $15m" Murakami has a new exhibition at the Palace of Versailles. The Guardian has photographs, and a short piece about the controversy sparked by the exhibition, which does not include Murakami's Lonesome Cowboy. A committee to defend the palace, made up of French monarchists aghast at the "triple scandal of art, money, and democracy", says "Non aux mangas!". (They didn't like Jeff Koons either.) Rue89 has an interview with the director of the palace. (Last few links in French. Previously.)
There's a slightly fiddly, Flash slideshow on the exhibition page, too, with different pictures.
There's a slightly fiddly, Flash slideshow on the exhibition page, too, with different pictures.
Takashi Murakami, adored by people all over the world who don't know how to type "pixiv.net" into their browsers.
posted by shii at 7:16 AM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by shii at 7:16 AM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
Murakami needs to be shown in against blank walls, in spacious, modern vistas, or against natural materials and surfaces. At Versailles, it's baroque on baroque. The context is distracting and adds nothing to our appreciation either of Murakami or Louis XIV. People are angry because, 1.) they understand this and, 2.) understanding it, they feel they are being manipulated into opposition for the sole purpose of enhancing Murakami's status as a transgressor. The art world is pathetic.
posted by Faze at 7:17 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Faze at 7:17 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's amazing how well his works fit in to the rooms, at least looking at the Guardian photos.
That was my thought, too. The sculptures looked cheerful and fun, and were almost as kitschy as the rooms. I like it.
posted by Forktine at 7:17 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
That was my thought, too. The sculptures looked cheerful and fun, and were almost as kitschy as the rooms. I like it.
posted by Forktine at 7:17 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Murakami needs to be shown in against blank walls, in spacious, modern vistas, or against natural materials and surfaces.
Presumably, Murakami himself does not feel this way, if you read the statement in the first link.
posted by oulipian at 7:26 AM on September 11, 2010
Presumably, Murakami himself does not feel this way, if you read the statement in the first link.
posted by oulipian at 7:26 AM on September 11, 2010
The difference between this sculptor and thousands of others on deviantArt: Money.
posted by Malice at 7:29 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Malice at 7:29 AM on September 11, 2010
(I should add that I think his 'smile sitting at the back of the room' while he was watching a piece be auctioned off was a smile of 'you can pretty much make anything and someone will buy it. Idiots. Oh well, I'm rich because you're gullible.')
posted by Malice at 7:32 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Malice at 7:32 AM on September 11, 2010
The context is distracting and adds nothing to our appreciation either of Murakami or Louis XIV.
Sorry, Forktine, but I must disagree. I'm not really sure why I'm so surprised that Versailles works so well as an exhibition space for his work but I think the interplay here is pretty great - I particularly like the Oval Buddhas. I can certainly understand why some people would be pissed off about this, though. The juxtaposition between the relentless poppy cheerfulness and a place with as much patrimony and cultural gravitas as Versailles will jar people.
I've got to believe that the cash registers at the Versailles ticket office aren't going to suffer for this, either.
posted by the painkiller at 7:41 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Sorry, Forktine, but I must disagree. I'm not really sure why I'm so surprised that Versailles works so well as an exhibition space for his work but I think the interplay here is pretty great - I particularly like the Oval Buddhas. I can certainly understand why some people would be pissed off about this, though. The juxtaposition between the relentless poppy cheerfulness and a place with as much patrimony and cultural gravitas as Versailles will jar people.
I've got to believe that the cash registers at the Versailles ticket office aren't going to suffer for this, either.
posted by the painkiller at 7:41 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
I am 100% sure that had the social mores of the time allowed it, Louis XIV would have had a twenty foot high statue of himself in the mode of the Lonesome Cowboy. Though probably with the jizz forming a fleur-de-lis rather than a lasso.
posted by Coobeastie at 7:42 AM on September 11, 2010 [11 favorites]
posted by Coobeastie at 7:42 AM on September 11, 2010 [11 favorites]
The interior of Versailles is all sorts of tacky.
You do realize that's the point, don't you? Do you think a shiny stainless steel bust of Louis XIV has no subtext?
Murakami I can do without. I must be missing something huge, because everything I've seen of his is as one dimensional as the binder drawings of my high school classmates. If he's trying to talk about money and value, then it's already been done by Koons but with objects that are meaningful on their own.
posted by cmoj at 7:42 AM on September 11, 2010
You do realize that's the point, don't you? Do you think a shiny stainless steel bust of Louis XIV has no subtext?
Murakami I can do without. I must be missing something huge, because everything I've seen of his is as one dimensional as the binder drawings of my high school classmates. If he's trying to talk about money and value, then it's already been done by Koons but with objects that are meaningful on their own.
posted by cmoj at 7:42 AM on September 11, 2010
Oh wait never mind about the Louis XIV thing. I see what you're saying.
posted by cmoj at 7:44 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by cmoj at 7:44 AM on September 11, 2010
Why would I want to spend 15 mil on something I can do at home for free?
posted by Scoo at 7:46 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Scoo at 7:46 AM on September 11, 2010
I think his work as installed at Versailles is smart and funny. Perfect, except for the missing Lonesome Cowboy.
posted by R. Mutt at 7:47 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by R. Mutt at 7:47 AM on September 11, 2010
Also worth it just for having provoked this utterance from a classic Out of Touch Traditionalist:
"The little boy with pointed genitals whose jet of sperm forms a lasso, the big-breasted little girl whose jet of milk forms a skipping rope have no place in the royal chambers," said Anne Brassié, one of the authors of the Versailles Mon Amour petition.
posted by Scoo at 7:51 AM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
"The little boy with pointed genitals whose jet of sperm forms a lasso, the big-breasted little girl whose jet of milk forms a skipping rope have no place in the royal chambers," said Anne Brassié, one of the authors of the Versailles Mon Amour petition.
posted by Scoo at 7:51 AM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
classic Out of Touch Traditionalist
The "traditionalist" may simply be in touch with something better.
posted by Faze at 7:59 AM on September 11, 2010
The "traditionalist" may simply be in touch with something better.
posted by Faze at 7:59 AM on September 11, 2010
Huh. I thought they look ridiculous and totally out of place (and not in a good artsy kind of way). The idea may be solid, but the visual is terrible.
posted by Dr.Enormous at 8:00 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Dr.Enormous at 8:00 AM on September 11, 2010
I kind of like the idea of this but it lacks flow, for something so... flowy.
posted by shinybaum at 8:03 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by shinybaum at 8:03 AM on September 11, 2010
The context is distracting and adds nothing to our appreciation either of Murakami or Louis XIV.
I disagree completely. I think seeing those pieces in that context is incredibly compelling and I'm just looking at photographs. The fact that the pop art pieces are glossier and more colorful than the classic pieces but still seemed to have a similar over-the-top sensibility is interesting. Against sterile white walls, you may get a better look at the Murakami works, but against the background of so much other art, it blends, which is, in and of itself, very interesting, especially given the reaction of people who don't tend to regard pop art as art at all.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:09 AM on September 11, 2010 [7 favorites]
I disagree completely. I think seeing those pieces in that context is incredibly compelling and I'm just looking at photographs. The fact that the pop art pieces are glossier and more colorful than the classic pieces but still seemed to have a similar over-the-top sensibility is interesting. Against sterile white walls, you may get a better look at the Murakami works, but against the background of so much other art, it blends, which is, in and of itself, very interesting, especially given the reaction of people who don't tend to regard pop art as art at all.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:09 AM on September 11, 2010 [7 favorites]
It's contrasty. I like it. The baroque surroundings actually make Makumi's work look subtle
posted by delmoi at 8:47 AM on September 11, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by delmoi at 8:47 AM on September 11, 2010 [4 favorites]
The interior of Versailles is all sorts of tacky.
As copied by palaces across Europe!
Does Vegas have one?
posted by Artw at 8:50 AM on September 11, 2010
As copied by palaces across Europe!
Does Vegas have one?
posted by Artw at 8:50 AM on September 11, 2010
I was all set to scoff, but from the pictures at least I think it works rather well. Better than Koontz certainly.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:52 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:52 AM on September 11, 2010
Takashi Murakami, adored by people all over the world who don't know how to type "pixiv.net" into their browsers.
Yeah, that's why I always say that owning an original Renoir or Warhol is for suckers. Google image search is where it's at.
posted by mhoye at 8:53 AM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
Yeah, that's why I always say that owning an original Renoir or Warhol is for suckers. Google image search is where it's at.
posted by mhoye at 8:53 AM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
Er, Koons. Had my schlockmeisters mixed up.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:54 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 8:54 AM on September 11, 2010
I've been to the Brooklyn Museum only once, and it was a couple years ago when Murakami's stuff was there. It's really surreal. It felt like you were walking around in a giant cartoon on pause.
posted by phunniemee at 8:55 AM on September 11, 2010
posted by phunniemee at 8:55 AM on September 11, 2010
Why does Metafilter hate art so much? Reading mefi art threads is mildly embarrassing, like eating at Applebees.
posted by nathancaswell at 8:58 AM on September 11, 2010 [15 favorites]
posted by nathancaswell at 8:58 AM on September 11, 2010 [15 favorites]
Because MeFites all have an insufferable case of Hipper-than-Thou syndrome. Why do you think there's so much hipster hate?
posted by Artw at 9:14 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 9:14 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
The difference between this sculptor and thousands of others on deviantArt: Money.
Time.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:19 AM on September 11, 2010
Time.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 9:19 AM on September 11, 2010
It's actually more like less-hip-than-though. When it comes to art and personal fashion (the h-word) half of mefi morphs into F150 driving, Wrangler wearing, style hating 40 year olds shouting "my kid could paint that" then flipping to American Idol and gesturing to the TV with their shitty (but not too shitty cause that would be ironic) beer, proclaiming "now THAT's talent".
posted by nathancaswell at 9:26 AM on September 11, 2010 [13 favorites]
posted by nathancaswell at 9:26 AM on September 11, 2010 [13 favorites]
Versailles as tacky? I wouldn't say that. Having been there, the thing that blew my mind was how shabby i found the actual work. It looks fantastic in photos. In reality, things just don't quite fit together right. One expensive piece of beautiful stone isn't really cut right to fit with the stone next to it. The Hall of Mirrors is old and dull. (I think the mirrors should be updated, but that's me).
The art fits, but I'd never seen this Lonesome Cowboy before, and I quite like it, and think I've never seen a more fitting piece of modern sculpture to adorn a French royal palace. Pity they left him at home, all alone.
posted by Goofyy at 9:33 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
The art fits, but I'd never seen this Lonesome Cowboy before, and I quite like it, and think I've never seen a more fitting piece of modern sculpture to adorn a French royal palace. Pity they left him at home, all alone.
posted by Goofyy at 9:33 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Give Oval Buddha bunny ears, and you get Max.
posted by ymgve at 9:40 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ymgve at 9:40 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
I dislike French Baroque. I intensely dislike Murakami. I do, however approve wholeheartedly of this exhibition.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 10:05 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by 1f2frfbf at 10:05 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Sorry, Forktine, but I must disagree. I'm not really sure why I'm so surprised that Versailles works so well as an exhibition space for his work but I think the interplay here is pretty great
It's someone else who said that. I agree with you: I like the interplay of the tacky space and the (ironically?) tacky art.
posted by Forktine at 10:26 AM on September 11, 2010
It's someone else who said that. I agree with you: I like the interplay of the tacky space and the (ironically?) tacky art.
posted by Forktine at 10:26 AM on September 11, 2010
There's got to be some oligarch out there doing something 10000% more tacky and expensive right now.
posted by Artw at 10:30 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Artw at 10:30 AM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
There's got to be some oligarch out there doing something 10000% more tacky and expensive right now.
Definitely, but it won't fit into Versailles.
posted by Forktine at 10:40 AM on September 11, 2010
Definitely, but it won't fit into Versailles.
posted by Forktine at 10:40 AM on September 11, 2010
Why would I want to spend 15 mil on something I can do at home for free?
Wow! Tip-o-the-hat to you, sir!
Uhhhmm you don't, uh, happen to know Hiropon...?
Takasahi Murakami Gallery in Esquire
posted by P.o.B. at 11:46 AM on September 11, 2010
Wow! Tip-o-the-hat to you, sir!
Uhhhmm you don't, uh, happen to know Hiropon...?
Takasahi Murakami Gallery in Esquire
posted by P.o.B. at 11:46 AM on September 11, 2010
People are angry because, 1.) they understand this
LULZ!1!1!!1!1
posted by Jimmy Havok at 11:49 AM on September 11, 2010
LULZ!1!1!!1!1
posted by Jimmy Havok at 11:49 AM on September 11, 2010
Why does Metafilter hate art so much?
A comment like that on this thread kind of demands a defense of the work. I'm pretty much with pts on this guy.
One aspect of good art, or at least, God help me, sincere art, is that the suspicion factor doesn't even arise.
Best that can be said of this guy is he's making decoration. Five minute amusing decoration, but decoration none the less. And the cowboy thing- I'm too old to be shocked.
posted by IndigoJones at 11:55 AM on September 11, 2010
A comment like that on this thread kind of demands a defense of the work. I'm pretty much with pts on this guy.
One aspect of good art, or at least, God help me, sincere art, is that the suspicion factor doesn't even arise.
Best that can be said of this guy is he's making decoration. Five minute amusing decoration, but decoration none the less. And the cowboy thing- I'm too old to be shocked.
posted by IndigoJones at 11:55 AM on September 11, 2010
One aspect of good art, or at least, God help me, sincere art, is that the suspicion factor doesn't even arise.
For example, no one was suspicious of Picasso.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 12:03 PM on September 11, 2010 [6 favorites]
For example, no one was suspicious of Picasso.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 12:03 PM on September 11, 2010 [6 favorites]
Wait, what's wrong with wearing Wranglers? I'm sorry that I don't feel designer jeans are a good value proposition. Oh shit, I also wear Target house brand polo shirts. Is there any hope for me?
posted by kmz at 12:06 PM on September 11, 2010
posted by kmz at 12:06 PM on September 11, 2010
Touche on that, good buddy!
Mind you, I'm not suspicious of Picasso. I think he was something of a rip off artist. But that's a rant for a different thread.
But do admit, this guy, and Koons as well, is pretty much rubbing our faces in it.
Imagine you're walking down a street in slightly dubious part of Tokyo. Imagine you come across a shop specializing in Manga. Imagine that this statue is in the vestibule with a sign around it's neck saying "Buy Manga Here!"
Not knowing what you know now, would you honestly stop dead in your tracks and say My God! That statue! It's brilliant! So insightful It should be in a museum! Money is no object! I must have it!
Or would you just laugh once, go inside and look for something to read?
Thing is, the art world is a pretty sleazy place and it helps to move the product if you can put a SOLD sticker on a high price item and point this fact out to others. It creates excitement among those who mistake price for value. Or who want to manipulate the market so they can offload other works by the same or similar artists. And there are plenty of enablers in the media and museum world to help them do it.
posted by IndigoJones at 12:59 PM on September 11, 2010
Mind you, I'm not suspicious of Picasso. I think he was something of a rip off artist. But that's a rant for a different thread.
But do admit, this guy, and Koons as well, is pretty much rubbing our faces in it.
Imagine you're walking down a street in slightly dubious part of Tokyo. Imagine you come across a shop specializing in Manga. Imagine that this statue is in the vestibule with a sign around it's neck saying "Buy Manga Here!"
Not knowing what you know now, would you honestly stop dead in your tracks and say My God! That statue! It's brilliant! So insightful It should be in a museum! Money is no object! I must have it!
Or would you just laugh once, go inside and look for something to read?
Thing is, the art world is a pretty sleazy place and it helps to move the product if you can put a SOLD sticker on a high price item and point this fact out to others. It creates excitement among those who mistake price for value. Or who want to manipulate the market so they can offload other works by the same or similar artists. And there are plenty of enablers in the media and museum world to help them do it.
posted by IndigoJones at 12:59 PM on September 11, 2010
Why does Metafilter hate art so much? Reading mefi art threads is mildly embarrassing, like eating at Applebees.
You'll probably want to avoid the Damien Hirst post that just went up, then.
posted by bobo123 at 1:31 PM on September 11, 2010
You'll probably want to avoid the Damien Hirst post that just went up, then.
posted by bobo123 at 1:31 PM on September 11, 2010
It's someone else who said that.
Crap, sorry - that was directed more at Faze, wasn't it...
posted by the painkiller at 2:15 PM on September 11, 2010
Crap, sorry - that was directed more at Faze, wasn't it...
posted by the painkiller at 2:15 PM on September 11, 2010
Picasso...was something of a rip off artist.
There were definitely times when he was phoning it in, but even then he had a certain something. And the times he wasn't phoning it in, that something is obvious.
I suspect Koons and Murakami will be regarded as voices of their times just as much as Picasso is.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 2:37 PM on September 11, 2010
There were definitely times when he was phoning it in, but even then he had a certain something. And the times he wasn't phoning it in, that something is obvious.
I suspect Koons and Murakami will be regarded as voices of their times just as much as Picasso is.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 2:37 PM on September 11, 2010
This controversy makes no sense. French people love manga.
posted by No-sword at 2:54 PM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by No-sword at 2:54 PM on September 11, 2010 [2 favorites]
Imagine you're walking down a street in slightly dubious part of Tokyo. Imagine you come across a shop specializing in Manga. Imagine that this statue is in the vestibule with a sign around it's neck saying "Buy Manga Here!"
Imagine you're going to a suburban grocery store in the 1960s and you see this in the window with a sign saying "Sale on Soup!"
Or imagine you're walking past a comic book store and you see this in the window with a sign that says, "Buy Comics Here!"
Appropriating mass market imagery in fine art is the point. Pop art - does what it says on the tin.
posted by jeoc at 5:45 PM on September 11, 2010 [7 favorites]
Imagine you're going to a suburban grocery store in the 1960s and you see this in the window with a sign saying "Sale on Soup!"
Or imagine you're walking past a comic book store and you see this in the window with a sign that says, "Buy Comics Here!"
Appropriating mass market imagery in fine art is the point. Pop art - does what it says on the tin.
posted by jeoc at 5:45 PM on September 11, 2010 [7 favorites]
...made uncomfortable and wary...
posted by pts
That's successful art.
posted by johnnybeggs at 5:52 PM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by pts
That's successful art.
posted by johnnybeggs at 5:52 PM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Nothings wrong with Wranglers. I used them as an example cause Brett Favre Wranglers seem like the anti-skinny-jeans. Just like I used the F150 as the anti-NJS-track-bike.
You may resume playing pickup football in a field / hauling stuff through a muddy quarry.
posted by nathancaswell at 8:07 PM on September 11, 2010
You may resume playing pickup football in a field / hauling stuff through a muddy quarry.
posted by nathancaswell at 8:07 PM on September 11, 2010
I would really really love to see something like the inverse of this exhibit. Murakami designs the interior of an opulent palace in what we could call "Superflat Baroque" and we exhibit a selection of classic marble sculpture.
posted by Grimgrin at 8:24 PM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Grimgrin at 8:24 PM on September 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
Naturally I don't know about pop art. I just saw it on the side of a monster truck, while weightlifting.
posted by breath at 12:39 AM on September 12, 2010
posted by breath at 12:39 AM on September 12, 2010
People tend to get emotional about the poorly defined words, like "art," "love," "God," "democracy"...
Not so surprising, then, that running into some art (or love or religion) that doesn't fit your personal expectations of those things will cause a reaction of disgust.
Art is supposed to provoke aesthetic appreciation. There are as many standards of aesthetics as there are humans. Of course there are people who think, "Wow! I've got to have that!" in response to a statue of a dude jizzing a lasso.
Nobody is asking you to appreciate things that you don't like. You can appreciate art by appreciating whatever form of art does it for you. Failing to appreciate Murakami doesn't make you a plebe, seriously.
However, denouncing him as non-art does make you a killjoy. If you can't let people appreciate the things they like unmolested, then you're a hater.
I suggest against being a hater.
posted by LogicalDash at 6:32 AM on September 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Not so surprising, then, that running into some art (or love or religion) that doesn't fit your personal expectations of those things will cause a reaction of disgust.
Art is supposed to provoke aesthetic appreciation. There are as many standards of aesthetics as there are humans. Of course there are people who think, "Wow! I've got to have that!" in response to a statue of a dude jizzing a lasso.
Nobody is asking you to appreciate things that you don't like. You can appreciate art by appreciating whatever form of art does it for you. Failing to appreciate Murakami doesn't make you a plebe, seriously.
However, denouncing him as non-art does make you a killjoy. If you can't let people appreciate the things they like unmolested, then you're a hater.
I suggest against being a hater.
posted by LogicalDash at 6:32 AM on September 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
So for whatever it's worth, which isn't much: I'm someone who isn't particularly up on art-world trends. But ever since I saw the superflat exhibit that toured in 2001(?) I've tried to seek out Murakami, because I do have that
but, yeah, if I saw something like Lonesome Cowboy outside a manga shop in Tokyo, I would am certain that I would basically shit myself over it. And to be honest, I expect that if the cranky folks here tripped across it in the same lack-of-context, they would also have their minds blown/pants shat.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:42 AM on September 12, 2010
stop dead in your tracks and say My God! That statue! It's brilliant! So insightful It should be in a museum! Money is no object! I must have it!reaction to his work. Well, with the caveat that I'm a grad student, so my "money is no object" reaction doesn't matter because I don't have any of it, and with the second caveat that I'm more immediately drawn to his less explicit stuff, though I do see the appeal/value of the hentai-flavored pieces.
but, yeah, if I saw something like Lonesome Cowboy outside a manga shop in Tokyo, I would am certain that I would basically shit myself over it. And to be honest, I expect that if the cranky folks here tripped across it in the same lack-of-context, they would also have their minds blown/pants shat.
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:42 AM on September 12, 2010
would am certain? christ, dude, if you start editing a sentence, finish it. "I am certain," not "I would am certain."
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:45 AM on September 12, 2010
posted by You Can't Tip a Buick at 9:45 AM on September 12, 2010
would you honestly stop dead in your tracks and say My God! That statue! It's brilliant! So insightful It should be in a museum! Money is no object! I must have it!
Some of the KFC's in Tokyo have life size statues of Colonel Sanders out front. Every time I see one, that's my exact reaction.
posted by billyfleetwood at 3:43 PM on September 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Some of the KFC's in Tokyo have life size statues of Colonel Sanders out front. Every time I see one, that's my exact reaction.
posted by billyfleetwood at 3:43 PM on September 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Appropriating mass market imagery in fine art is the point. Pop art - does what it says on the tin.
And I suppose that's why I'm underwhelmed by Murakami, what he's doing was not only done, it was done and old and tired years ago. I suppose there is something to be said for shifting the cultural relevance from Consumerist Middle America to the Consumerist Asian Rim, but still. It's not saying anything new to me.
So: Whatever. Let the man make his art and sell it for obscene amounts of money, at least it's not another album from Paris Hilton.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 4:22 PM on September 12, 2010
And I suppose that's why I'm underwhelmed by Murakami, what he's doing was not only done, it was done and old and tired years ago. I suppose there is something to be said for shifting the cultural relevance from Consumerist Middle America to the Consumerist Asian Rim, but still. It's not saying anything new to me.
So: Whatever. Let the man make his art and sell it for obscene amounts of money, at least it's not another album from Paris Hilton.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 4:22 PM on September 12, 2010
I loved the contrast between the sculptures and the art in the background of the pictures.
Also, the Colonel Sanders statues are terrific. In a 'my god, it's full of scary' terrific!
posted by dragonplayer at 5:23 PM on September 12, 2010
Also, the Colonel Sanders statues are terrific. In a 'my god, it's full of scary' terrific!
posted by dragonplayer at 5:23 PM on September 12, 2010
And I suppose that's why I'm underwhelmed by Murakami, what he's doing was not only done, it was done and old and tired years ago.
Cite? If it was old and tired and done years ago, it was done by Murakami. This stuff isn't new.
One of my favorites from the exhibition I saw at MOCA in LA in 2008 (it had been around quite some time then too) was "Second Mission Project ko2 Advanced (Human Type), All Three Stages". A decent link to the piece is located here, another one here. Its a manga anime prototypical female that transforms into a space jet. Her vagina transforms into the nose of the jet. This one might be a little more overt in making Murakami's point.
posted by jabberjaw at 12:07 AM on September 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
Cite? If it was old and tired and done years ago, it was done by Murakami. This stuff isn't new.
One of my favorites from the exhibition I saw at MOCA in LA in 2008 (it had been around quite some time then too) was "Second Mission Project ko2 Advanced (Human Type), All Three Stages". A decent link to the piece is located here, another one here. Its a manga anime prototypical female that transforms into a space jet. Her vagina transforms into the nose of the jet. This one might be a little more overt in making Murakami's point.
posted by jabberjaw at 12:07 AM on September 13, 2010 [1 favorite]
And I suppose that's why I'm underwhelmed by Murakami, what he's doing was not only done, it was done and old and tired years ago.
Dude, people still buy Snuggies.
posted by Theta States at 7:42 AM on September 13, 2010
Dude, people still buy Snuggies.
posted by Theta States at 7:42 AM on September 13, 2010
Cite? If it was old and tired and done years ago, it was done by Murakami. This stuff isn't new.
I'm actually referring to pop art as a "movement," or increasingly, as a cliche. I don't have a problem with it, I just don't see any reason to go back and do it all again. It's not vital anymore, it's said it's fill, and it did that almost half a century ago. I teach it to all my students and feel like everyone should have a decent grasp of it, but the whole "everyday symbology is fine art" was indeed done, and done well by no less than Duchamp, Oldenburg, Warhol and Lichtenstein and, to a certain extent, Johns and Rauschenberg. But yes, I give Murakami credit for switching the cultural relevance from Western to Eastern, but what is he really saying that hasn't already been beaten into our heads by over a generation's worth of Warhol wannabes? So to sum up, I'm confused as to why anyone would want to create pop art today, as we've already played a hard fought game on that pitch, and the grass is looking pretty thin and shabby now.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:55 AM on September 13, 2010
I'm actually referring to pop art as a "movement," or increasingly, as a cliche. I don't have a problem with it, I just don't see any reason to go back and do it all again. It's not vital anymore, it's said it's fill, and it did that almost half a century ago. I teach it to all my students and feel like everyone should have a decent grasp of it, but the whole "everyday symbology is fine art" was indeed done, and done well by no less than Duchamp, Oldenburg, Warhol and Lichtenstein and, to a certain extent, Johns and Rauschenberg. But yes, I give Murakami credit for switching the cultural relevance from Western to Eastern, but what is he really saying that hasn't already been beaten into our heads by over a generation's worth of Warhol wannabes? So to sum up, I'm confused as to why anyone would want to create pop art today, as we've already played a hard fought game on that pitch, and the grass is looking pretty thin and shabby now.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 7:55 AM on September 13, 2010
Aw, saying Pop Art has outlived its usefulness is like saying Pop Music has outlived its usefulness (not equating Pop Art with Pop Music). Certainly, as long as culture grows and shifts, Pop Art has something new and useful to say. I understand the correlation to Warhol and Lichtenstein, but will the message they have supposedly beaten into our heads really resonate forever? I'll tell you that neither Warhol nor Lichtenstein have anywhere near the effect on me as it did on their contemporaries, or anywhere near the effect on me as Murakami, and Murakami may not much as an effect on people ten years from now as it does now.
I always find it odd when people say that some form of art, or music, or literature has been exhausted. I understand that things like natural resources can be exhausted; things that are physical, tangible, limited. But ideas? Ideas are never exhausted. There will always be newer and better and different ideas, art, music, ways of looking at the world. Where you describe thin and shabby grass, I see beneath it lush and gritty dirt, layers infinite in depth and breadth, mysterious, exciting.
posted by jabberjaw at 8:41 PM on September 13, 2010 [2 favorites]
I always find it odd when people say that some form of art, or music, or literature has been exhausted. I understand that things like natural resources can be exhausted; things that are physical, tangible, limited. But ideas? Ideas are never exhausted. There will always be newer and better and different ideas, art, music, ways of looking at the world. Where you describe thin and shabby grass, I see beneath it lush and gritty dirt, layers infinite in depth and breadth, mysterious, exciting.
posted by jabberjaw at 8:41 PM on September 13, 2010 [2 favorites]
For example, no one was suspicious of Picasso. - Jimmy Havok
Well, he was never called an asshole.
posted by rush at 11:09 AM on September 14, 2010 [3 favorites]
Well, he was never called an asshole.
posted by rush at 11:09 AM on September 14, 2010 [3 favorites]
Not in New York.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 5:28 PM on September 14, 2010
posted by Jimmy Havok at 5:28 PM on September 14, 2010
jabberjaw: Well put. Thank you for keeping my grumpiness in check.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:06 AM on September 15, 2010
posted by 1f2frfbf at 6:06 AM on September 15, 2010
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