!N-Cha! 1999

Curator: My first thought is... candy! The forms and colors give it this playful, almost saccharine quality. Editor: Indeed! Today we are observing "!N-Cha!," a work executed in acrylic paint by Takashi Murakami in 1999. His blend of pop art and digital techniques certainly produces a singular effect. I’m wondering what you make of these cartoon-like forms that seem to drift across a bright white expanse. Curator: I'm interested in the manufacturing process and the artist's studio setup. Murakami's employment of assistants is quite common now, yet the conversation around mass production and the aura of uniqueness in art is still something we’re untangling, wouldn't you agree? Editor: Certainly. But within this work I find compelling harmonies. See how Murakami manipulates gradients and contours to simulate depth, or how those bulbous fungal forms repeat. There’s something both soothing and unsettling in those vast, pupil-filled expanses. They almost seem to watch the viewer. Curator: Those repetitive motifs are signature Murakami. The "superflat" aesthetic as he terms it is his commentary on flattening cultural hierarchies post WWII and consumer culture in Japan. This has led to massive commercial successes; collaborations with Louis Vuitton and Kanye West. What do you see here with the use of that style? Editor: By minimizing depth and flattening planes, Murakami cleverly evokes the feel of commercial art, yet he also flirts with themes in traditional Japanese art that utilize similar conventions. And he achieves an intriguing tension. How do you weigh those collaborations against his artistic intent? Curator: In terms of accessibility and democratizing art I think there's something interesting there, but ultimately how the final pieces enter into a system of late-stage capitalism creates problems within that, despite good intentions. His works become part of luxury brands. The work almost functions as branding itself, does it not? Editor: It is certainly an interesting juxtaposition! One could spend quite a long time analyzing this canvas. For me it raises important points about the tension between popular culture and visual structure. Curator: For me, seeing how labor, materials, and consumerism converge makes you think. I come away pondering the socioeconomic web in which a work like this exists.