Takashi Murakami is one of the top-ranked contemporary artists.
You may know him from his collaborations with Louis Vuitton, for example.
In this issue, we will give you 10 facts to know what was innovative about him.

1) Modern technology and traditional Japanese painting techniques

Japanese artist Takashi Murakami is known for his visually contemporary and vibrant work, but he also experiments between more subtle concepts and the contrast between tradition and modernity.
On a technical level, he uses cutting-edge technological media and materials, while at the same time utilizing ancient Japanese artistic techniques such as gold leaf painting.
On a figurative level, he creates colorful, almost hallucinatory worlds where Buddhist iconography and anime heroes share the canvas.
It also includes resources for ideas ranging from the traditional, such as Korin Ogata's, to the contemporary, such as Stanley Kubrick's.

(2) Superflat

Takashi Murakami is an advocate of the "Superflat" art movement.
The term was first used at an exhibition in Tokyo in 2001 to trace the origins of Japanese contemporary art through the history of traditional Japanese art.
This includes Japanese art inspired by manga and anime.
The term "superflat" is used to describe the flatness found in Japanese pictorial art.
The term could also be seen as a critique of the emptiness of Japan's postwar consumer culture.

(3) Influence from Andy Warhol

Takashi Murakami's art is strongly influenced by the work of Andy Warhol.
In fact, two of his works, "Warhol/Silver" and "Warhol/Gold," directly reference Warhol's series of flowers.
These works seem to convey Murakami's deep respect for Warhol's legacy.
When asked about Warhol in Sarah Thornton's book "Seven days in the Art World," Murakami responds to her words with surprising dissatisfaction.

He said, "Warhol's genius was that he discovered painting that was so easy to do. I am jealous of Warhol. I always ask my design team, "If Warhol could paint so easily, why is our work so complicated?" But I know history!
My weakness is that I am oriental. Oriental tastes are too focused on presentation. I know it's unfair in the battlefield of contemporary art, but being Japanese, I can't help it."

(4) Kaikai Kiki Co.

Like Warhol, Murakami has created a kind of factory called Kaikai Kiki K.K., where he produces his works and has turned it into an empire.
Like Jeff Koons' factory in New York, it is a production site where hundreds of workers perform various processes to realize the artist's ideas.
However, Murakami has taken this approach a step further, producing a number of goods, including rugs printed with his signature motif of animated flowers.

5) Animated works at the Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles has had two exhibitions in recent years that have caused a stir.
These were the 2008 Jeff Koons retrospective and the 2010 Takashi Murakami exhibition.
Murakami presented 22 sculptures and paintings, 11 of which were created specifically for this exhibition.
The exhibition was criticized by certain activists such as Versailles mon Amour and Non aux mangas, who tried unsuccessfully to stop the exhibition.

(6) Different Levels of Understanding

Murakami's work expresses a seemingly psychedelic frankness, but invites us to read between the lines and offers solid pictorial reflections.
There are three possible levels of understanding of his work.

The first level of understanding: a critique of otaku, radical anime fans who, for Murakami, represent superficiality and nihilism. It is fair to say that this fanatical madness is exaggerated and ridiculed by his pictorial style of caricature and distortion.

Second level of understanding: an understanding tied to the consumerist culture of society and the impact of its products on our personalities and behavior.

Third level of understanding: Murakami achieves a bond between "high culture" and so-called "low culture".

(vii) DOB-kun.

Takashi Murakami's signature character, Mr. Dob, was introduced in 1992.
It appeared at a time when artists such as Barbara Krueger and Jenny Holzer were first introduced to Japan and used as a kind of self-portrait.
The center of their work is the word.
Their socially and politically critical works influenced Murakami.
Dob-kun has a round head and two ears like Mickey Mouse, with the letter D engraved on the left ear and the letter b on the right ear.
Dob is a contraction of the Dada-like phrase "Dobojite, dobojite," which means "Why, why?" It means "why?
With this alter ego, Murakami wanted to create an icon that is both Japanese and universal.

8) Louis Vuitton

In 2003, Marc Jacobs asked Murakami to participate in a collaboration to reinterpret Louis Vuitton's classic handbags.
This collection was interesting to Murakami from a creative standpoint.
Louis Vuitton allowed the logo to be represented in a variety of colors.
Moreover, the fusion that resulted from this hybrid collaboration between a contemporary artist and a luxury brand was a revolution in the world of art and fashion.

(9) Pop Music

In addition to art and fashion, Murakami also creates music and audiovisual works.
His first music video was for Kanye West in 2007 and more recently for Pharrell Williams; in September 2014, he directed a music video for Pharrell's song "It Girl," featuring the singer as his own animated character.

(10) My Lonesome Cowboy.

In May 2008, Murakami became one of the most expensive living artists in the world.
His sculpture My Lonesome Cowboy (1998) sold for more than $15 million at a Christie's auction.
Since then, Takashi Murakami's profile has not diminished.
At trade fairs and auction houses, collectors have picked up his signature pieces, fascinated by the playful aesthetic and hidden irony of this iconic contemporary artist.