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last night on art safari [abc] they showcased the work of a hugely popular japanese contemporary artist, TAKASHI MURAKAMI. i watched it not because i knew who he was, but because he had a japanese name. his works were part of a jpf gallery exhibition a few months back, but i don't remember liking any of it..
anyway.
my point is.
it was thought-provoking stuff..
murakami's works utilises common manga/anime motifs to comment on contemporary social issues in japan. the artificiality of the visuals reinforces the supposed synthetic nature of japanese society.. one consumed by commercialism and materialism.. consumerist values driven to dizzying heights in the aftermath of WWII until the infamous bubble burst.. and henceforth giving rise to disillusionment, apathy.. he comments that japanese society has "given up".. they're running away from reality, responsibility and vainly reverting back to their childish innocence.. hence the rise of お宅, フリーター etc.
what's more interesting, murakami capitalises on consumerism to propogate his artworks and social commentary. his works are accessible in stationery, figurines, cookie tins...
does this pattern look familiar to you?
..it's a print for LV done in collaboration with Marc Jacobs.
i remember thinking it was totally tacky and childish and wtf for a luxury brand. but apparently there's a deeper meaning.. look at it as a comment on the simple contentedness with which [japanese] people go about their daily lives.. a sort of unfounded empty sense of wellbeing.. living life on autopilot, unquestioning, uncaring as to the restrictions imposed upon us by social institutions. and [japanese] society being overexposed to sugary sweet pop culture from business corporations aimed at luring the consumer dollar.
oh the joys of consumer culture.
murakami himself is a self-confessed お宅 otaku.. a social phenomenon in japan referring to those stay-at-home nerdy types who have no social lives or communication skills to speak of.. generally perceived as a stigma of modern society
more interesting, our tutor brought that up today in our contemporary japan tutorial. the term apparently dawned 20yrs back when some psychotic nerd who shut himself up for 8yrs decided to go on a little-girl-killing spree. they later discovered his room was plastered with pornography.. [our lecturer went on to ask every student in the room from the engineering faculty if they thought they had the potential to become a psychotic otaku.. weirdness o.O]
here's a random interview with murakami i found online
n.b. フリーター is the japanese term for dole bludgers.. who live in their parents' homes and do shit all
