Laura W. Allen – Takashi Murakami: Unfamiliar People

The swelling, monstrous human ego in the artworks of Takashi Murakami!

In this monograph, the Japanese artist Takashi Murakami explores people’s unbridled consumerism and the dangers of life in the digital fast lane. In short: monstrous artworks!

Takashi Murakami was born in Tokyo (Japan) in 1962 and is one of Japan’s most popular contemporary artists. His work is strongly influenced by Japanese subculture; he himself describes his style as ‘Superflat’. He first came to the attention of a Western audience through his designs for the luggage manufacturer Louis Vuitton, and to a younger generation through his album covers for Kanye West. However, it is precisely these works, straddling the boundaries between art, design and pop culture, that have also led to his artistic output being heavily scrutinised in some quarters.

Publisher: Yale University Press
Hardback with dust jacket: 144 pages, numerous colour illustrations
Language: English
Publication year: 2023
ISBN: 978-0-300-27318-2