Title Beyond Consumption: the art and merchandise of a superflat generation. Type Thesis URL http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/5210/ Date 2010 Citation Lisica, Cindy (2010) Beyond Consumption: the art and merchandise of a superflat generation. PhD thesis, University of the Arts London. Creators Lisica, Cindy Usage Guidelines Please refer to usage guidelines at http://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/policies.html or alternatively contact [email protected]. License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives Unless otherwise stated, copyright owned by the author BEYOND CONSUMPTION: THE ART, MERCHANDISE AND GLOBAL IMPACT OF TAKASHI MURAKAMI AND A SUPERFLAT GENERATION Cindy Lisica THESIS Presented to the University of the Arts London in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2010 Beyond Consumption: The Art, Merchandise and Global Impact of Takashi Murakami C. Lisica ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the impact of Superflat theory and practice of the artist and curator, Takashi Murakami. The thesis aims to analyse how contemporary transnational artistic activity functions via the work of Murakami and Superflat artists, including Chiho Aoshima and Aya Takano. From the blockbuster group exhibition, Super Flat, curated by Murakami, which debuted in the United States in 2001 at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, to the 2007-2009 ©MURAKAMI retrospective traveling from Los Angeles to Brooklyn then Frankfurt to Bilbao, the synthesis of ideas is showing the way to unprecedented directions in contemporary art. This investigation also links Murakami’s work to that of American Pop artists Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons and explores how Superflat art functions within and contributes to the already distorted area between parallel structures, such as high and low, fine art and commercial production, or East and West. When peeling back the layers of Superflat, there is a rich, beautiful and violent history. Recognising the fusion of tradition and technology, my research explores how Superflat artists are achieving international success by engaging in multiple outlets of creative expression and collaboration in the continuing context of globalisation and a consumer-driven art market. Images of anxiety and destruction are disguised as playful and marketable characters, and three-dimensional animation figures become cultural icons. Superflat explores the simulated, sensuous, colourful and obsessive “realities” that we inhabit on a global scale and captures a twenty-first century aesthetic. With reference to the representation of violence and disaster in art and popular culture, contemporary Japan’s construction of national identity and the postwar “Americanization” of Japan, this thesis examines how the layering of ideas via cross-cultural exchange produces a new form of hybrid and hyper Pop art. i Beyond Consumption: The Art, Merchandise and Global Impact of Takashi Murakami C. Lisica THESIS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I owe my deepest gratitude to my Director of Studies, Professor Oriana Baddeley, whose support from the preliminary research to the final stages has made this thesis possible. I also offer my sincere appreciation to my second supervisor, Professor Toshio Watanabe, who has generously shared his tremendous knowledge and guidance. I have been incredibly fortunate to have their supervision. I would like to thank Takashi Murakami for granting me his time, humour and insight, and I am indebted to Yayoi Shionoiri and Brad Plumb at Kaikai Kiki New York for their assistance and advice. I offer my gratitude to Kyoko Nishimoto and all of the Kaikai Kiki Japan staff for the gracious welcome. I am also grateful to Kaoru Tsunoda and Tanja Sillman for helping me out while in Tokyo. It is a pleasure to thank Matthew Whyte, whose friendly and fast administrative support in the Research Department was invaluable to the project. I have also been aided by Laura Lanceley and Eva Broer at Chelsea College of Art and Design, the CCW Graduate Fund, and my fellow students and colleagues at TrAIN Research Centre, whose lively discussions were always helpful to both the research and the overall experience. I would also like to mention Professors Karen Kleinfelder and Libby Lumpkin, whose excellent teaching and confidence in my abilities were the driving forces behind the initial development of this research project years ago in Los Angeles. Thanks to Chief Archivist Matt Wrbican at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh for his expertise on Warhol and continued support of my career, and to Kate Sloss and Tim Pate at Tate Britain for the opportunities that afforded me a good balance of work and study upon arrival in London. Further thanks go to Derek, Nicky and Taz for all the laughs, private views, and showing me the way of the proper afternoon tea. I am especially thankful for my friends and family, and I offer my apology that I cannot mention everyone by name. I would like to express my gratitude to Jen for taking the cross- Atlantic journeys, and Jason for always conveying his brotherly pride and insight. Finally, my parents, Jim and Teresa, undoubtedly deserve special mention for their consistent and continuous encouragement throughout my academic studies and for instilling in me a sense of willful determination and a strong work ethic to see things through to the end. ! ∀∀ Beyond Consumption: The Art, Merchandise and Global Impact of Takashi Murakami C. Lisica TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...................................................................................................... ii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS................................................................................................ iv-x INTRODUCTION: THE RISE OF THE SUPERFLAT.......................................................... 1 1 CULTIVATING AUTHENTICITY: RE-PRESENTING HISTORY............................ 22 1.1. Japanese Art as Export: the Superflat Plan and the Western Audience ………. 22 1.2. Postwar Identity Complex: Little Boy and Big Brother..................................... 31 1.3. The Development of DOB.................................................................................. 35 1.4. ‘Cool Japan’ and Neo-Pop.................................................................................. 44 1.5. Sex Sells: The Hiropon Sculpture and Otaku Subculture.................................. 49 1.6. The Memory of History: ‘Time Bokan’ and Impotence Culture....................... 60 2 SURVIVAL OF THE CUTEST: LOCATING THE EXOTIC…………...........…........ 64 2.1. Low and High Perceptions from ukiyo-e to ‘Micropop’..................................... 64 2.2. Superflat Incorporated: Kaikai Kiki Company and ‘Tokyo Girls Bravo’.......... 75 2.3. The Enduring Skull……………………………………………………...……... 86 2.4. Pop+Surrealism................................................................................................... 92 3 POP AFTER POP: CRITICALITY AND CAPITALISM.............................................. 96 3.1. Pop Expressions: The Superflat Splash and the Flattening Process……...…… 96 3.2. Disaster, Play and Consumption: ‘Japan’s Andy Warhol’……………...……. 101 3.3. Two-Faced: Murakami and the Double-edged Sword……………...…...…... 113 3.4. The Elimination of the Original: Postmodernism and Globalisation..………. 119 4 CONSUMPTION, PRODUCTION AND REDEMPTION........................................... 129 4.1. Fashion Fusions: ‘Eye Love Superflat’ and the Louis Vuitton Project…...…. 129 4.2. The Function of the Festival: GEISAI Art Fair……….……………...……… 143 4.3. Signature Style: Murakami and Celebrity………………………………….... 147 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................... 154 BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................................................. 170 APPENDIX: TAKASHI MURAKAMI INTERVIEW........................................................ 184 ! ! Beyond Consumption: The Art, Merchandise and Global Impact of Takashi Murakami C. Lisica LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1.1 Street sign for ©MURAKAMI exhibition, Los Angeles, 2007 24 Outdoor fabric material Approx. 4’ x 1.5’ Photograph © the author 1.2 Subway poster for ©MURAKAMI exhibition, New York, 2008 25 Approx. 5’ x 3 1/2’ Photograph © the author 1.3 Damn it all, 2001 32 Yoshitomo Nara Colour pencil and crayon on paper 12”H x 9 1/2”W Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York 1.4 General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito, 1945 34 Photographer Unknown, from a collection of original print copies Owned by R. Young Image courtesy of the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum 1.5 And Then, And Then And Then And Then And Then (Blue), 1996 38 Takashi Murakami Acrylic on canvas mounted on board 118 1/8” x 118 1/8” Collection of Queensland Art Gallery Courtesy of Blum & Poe Gallery, Los Angeles 1.6 Tan Tan Bo Puking - a.k.a. Gero Tan, 2002 41 Takashi Murakami Acrylic on canvas mounted on board Four panels: 141 3/4” x 283 7/16” x 2 5/8” Collection of Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann Courtesy of Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Paris and Miami 1.7 Dob in a Strange Forest, 1999 41 Takashi Murakami Acrylic, fiberglass and iron Approx. 3’ x 9’ x 9’ Installation at Parco Gallery, Tokyo ! ∀# Beyond Consumption: The Art, Merchandise and Global Impact of Takashi Murakami C. Lisica 1.8 727-727, 2006 43 Takashi Murakami