Takashi Murakami

For decades, the animation art form has been shunned by the mainstream art establishment, but it seems as if we are slowly witnessing a shift in sentiment towards the treatment of animation as art. The evidence can be found in the increasing number of animation-related exhibits at major galleries and institutions. Just in the past few weeks, I’ve linked to the online exhibit “Animated” put on by the Australian National Portrait Gallery and the “Animated Painting” show at the San Diego Museum of Art.

Now folks in Los Angeles also have the opportunity to see a cartoon-related show that opened a few weeks ago at the MOCA Geffen in downtown LA. Titled “© MURAKAMI”, it is a retrospective of the work of Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami, whose paintings, sculptures and installations all use a strong cartoon idiom. The exhibition also includes a preview of Murakami’s first major animated work, a highly stylized CG film called kaikai and kiki. If you can’t make it to the show, there’s a 330-page exhibition catalogue which can be purchased on Amazon. The MOCA website also has an artist-guided video tour of the show, as well as other video clips including a trailer for his animated film.

(Thanks, Chansoo Kim)

Amid Amidi

Amid Amidi is Cartoon Brew's Publisher and Editor-at-large.

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