Mr. DOB All Stars (Oh My The Mr. DOB) 1998

Takashi Murakami made 'Mr. DOB All Stars' using, well, it's hard to say exactly what, but those flat, vivid colours give the piece its punch. You know, artmaking is a bit like cooking, a recipe with unexpected results. There's something about the superflatness of the picture plane, and how it invites a certain kind of looking, one where the surface is everything. I mean, look at those colours, so bright, so un-natural! And the way the characters are outlined, it reminds me a bit of cartoons, but with a darker, more twisted edge. Take the big Mr. DOB at the top, the one with the teeth. Is it smiling, or is it about to bite? That ambiguity, that push and pull, it's what makes the piece so compelling. There is a kind of conversation that goes on in art history, and Murakami's work speaks to that lineage, even as it twists and distorts it into something new. And at the end of the day, maybe that's all we can ask for: a little bit of chaos, a little bit of beauty, and a whole lot of questions.