Spiral 2014

Takashi Murakami made this wonderfully bizarre piece, Spiral, using silkscreen and collage. I look at this work and I think about cartooning, a deep Japanese tradition, and how it becomes a vehicle for, well, what? A way to process the weirdness and the sweetness of contemporary life? I’m imagining Murakami in his studio, surrounded by assistants, generating images and ideas that feed into this intricate assembly of forms. The palette is sweet and sour – pastel hues mixed with acidic greens and purples. See how each character’s personality is slightly different? Some have menacing teeth, others are more benign, even melancholic. It reminds me of Elizabeth Murray's use of cartoonish forms and how she turned them into something so psychologically complex and emotionally resonant. What is Murakami’s process? How does he use a flat surface to explore depth and emotion? For me, that’s part of the puzzle that makes looking at painting so endlessly fascinating. Ultimately, Murakami is in conversation with other artists across time, using the language of painting to explore culture.