akofena

I’m so glad I caught this exhibit! “Takashi Murakami: Stepping on the Tail of a Rainbow” at the Cleveland Museum of Art was a lot of fun. The paintings and sculptures are absolutely bursting with color and energy, but there’s actually some heavy stuff going on beneath all those shiny, candy-bright surfaces. Murakami’s work touches on three huge historical moments: the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that led to the Fukushima (nuclear) disaster, and the COVID pandemic. He explores how Japanese culture processes trauma through things like grief, creativity, religion, and escapist fantasy.

His “Superflat” style is a cool mix of traditional Japanese art with anime, manga, and consumerism culture. It’s like he’s honoring the old ways while also poking at modern society. And Takashi’s iconic character Mr. DOB reflects what the Japanese public has been through with all this historical trauma. He is depicted in many forms, always smiling, but with some dark energy behind the smile. Pretty deep when you think about it. I loved it.