murakami

tan tan bo (2001)

still shot from the animated short planting the seeds
DOB in strange forest (1999)

glorious colour and bold wit, japanese artist takashi murakami's work is riveting. beginning this month from april 5 july 13, 2008 the brooklyn museum is featuring a retrospective of more than 90 pieces of murakami's earlier work. the prolific artist, coined the andy warhol of japan creates sculptures, animations, wallpaper and paintings that spin disney icons like mickey mouse (reincarnated as his famous Mr. DOB) and other innocuous pop culture motifs of their head. with the desire to create art "that makes your mind go blank, that leaves you gaping" murakami's work is an explosion of dizzying pattern and detail that just might be surrealism at its best.