Murakami Exhibition at the MOCA...part 2

OMG...I wrote soooo much about our meal at Daikokuya that I had to create a new post for the actual Murakami exhibition.

So the main reason for me wanting to go to the Murakami exhibition was due to the Exclusive Louis Vuitton Store at the venue! If you know me, I am the ultimate bag whore.

Anyway, back to the store. Unlike your regular Louis Vuitton Boutique, this one that is specially set up at MOCA features only products specially designed for the occasion by Vuitton and Murakami. The exhibition store will feature a new Murakami-designed 'Neverfull' bag with an LV Hands print and a round Monogram canvas coin purse with the same design. In addition to that, Murakami has also designed a Limited Edition diary/organizer/Agenda/Year Planner featuring a new character called Chibi Kinoko (Little Mushroom printed on Vuiton's signature Monogram Canvas, Monogram Multicolore (available in both Black and White). Alas, most of the items were already sold out as it was the last week of the exhibition. Lucky Alex...LOL!

So since there was nothing for me to buy at the store, I was going to be artsy and actually enjoy the art exhibition. Too bad photography was not permitted at the exhibit. However, I did manage to find someone else's blog which had really good photos of the exhibit. So the following photos are credited to Supertouch blog. Enjoy!

Murakami’s masterpiece: This giant beast is finished entirely in platinum leaf, officially making it the ultimate piece of art bling…

KaiKai and KiKi...they are the mascots for Takashi Murakami's company, Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd.

Murakami created an alter ego named DOB, whose name was taken from a line made famous by the late Japanese comedian Yuri Toru that asked the existential question: Dobojite dobojite?, (Why? Why?) As the complexities of Murakami's examination of his own identity evolved, so did DOB, in painting and inflatable form, morphing from a strand of DNA to a balloon-like form with innocent eyes.

Lastly, Milk and Cream, a pair of multiple-panel paintings, accompany Hiropon and Cowboy. Each depicts a graceful arc of white fluid against solid pastel pink and green backgrounds. The grand stroke of fluid, be it milk, semen or paint, recalls the paint drippings of abstract expressionist Jackson Pollack. At the same time, the foamy white fluid resembles the crashing waves of Edo-era printmaker Hokusai. The influence of woodblock printing and screen painting show Murakami's training in nihonga, a school that sought to revive traditional Japanese art forms. Murakami remixes modern Western art and traditional Japanese art, while denying the hierarchy of high "art" culture vs. low pop culture.